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James helps Lakers stay alive with Nuggets win, Celtics regain advantage over Heat

April 28, 2024

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James helps Lakers stay alive with Nuggets win, Celtics regain advantage over Heat

April 28, 2024

Haliburton hits overtime winner for Pacers, two ejections in Dallas, Wolves on verge of sweep

April 27, 2024

Both the Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks have roared back from 1-0 down in their first-round NBA playoff series to now lead 2-1 against the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers respectively.

The Pacers won a thriller in Game 3, the first of the series to be played in Indianapolis, triumphing 121-118 in overtime behind Myles Turner’s 29 points.

A raucous crowd was fired up before the game started by new WNBA No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark, who was selected by the Indiana Fever.

A dramatic encounter saw 16 lead changes or ties in the final quarter plus OT before Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton hit the game-winner in just his third postseason game as part of a triple double.

“I live for these moments,” Haliburton said. “That’s why I’m here.”

His coach Rick Carlisle was left in awe of the level of basketball being played.

“The playoffs are insane,” Carlisle said the game.

“Guys are going to pull other-worldly efforts out of their hearts and their guts.

“The details – the playoffs are so much about the details. We have to understand these games are won and lost in the margins.”

The Bucks have real injury concerns ahead of Game 4. They are already down Giannis Antetokounmpo and saw Damian Lillard go down with a re-aggravation of an Achilles injury that he dealt with in the back-end of the regular season.

Meanwhile, another sell-out crowd – this time down in Texas – saw the Mavericks protect home court for the first game as they beat the Clippers 101-90 with another stellar defensive performance.

It was the second game in a row that the Mavs had kept their opponents under 100 points, led by another strong second-half showing from Kyrie Irving.

The guard notched 19 of his 21 points after the break, having watched running mate Luka Doncic put the pressure on in the first.

“[It’s] just his calming effect,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “He’s never in a rush. He’s never gonna panic. He feels that everything is under control. The guys trust him out there on the floor. You can see that in the second half.”

It was a mixed night for Doncic, who had a double double but had to settle for just 22 points as he went cold in the second.

“Luka has to take what they’re giving,” Kidd said. “The Clippers are a really good defensive team. They’re physical with Luka.”

However, opposing Clippers head coach Ty Lue said that he felt that Doncic was really impressive as a defender, something the Slovenia superstar isn’t necessarily renowned for.

“He’s gonna take the challenge,” Lue said.

“When your best player takes that challenge, you’re a whole different team.

“He’s not known for his defense. But stepping up, taking that challenge and wanting to play guys 1-on-1, that means a lot. He’s doing a good job of guarding our guys.”

The game was also marked by a pair of ejections as Russell Westbrook and P.J. Washington were both kicked out of the game with 6:10 remaining.

Westbrook got into a skirmish with Doncic but it was Washington who got properly involved with the Clippers guard, leading to a double-ejection.

“Always got to protect 77 [Doncic] at all costs,” Washington told ESPN. “So I mean obviously it was a hard foul and then he pushed him afterwards, so I was right there and I just had to step into it.”

In the final game of the night, the Minnesota Timberwolves moved to within one game of a series sweep against the hapless Phoenix Suns with a 126-109 victory in the first game in the desert.

The star of the show, as was so often the case for the Wolves in the regular season, was Anthony Edwards, who torched the Suns for 36 points, along with nine rebounds and five assists.

On the defensive end, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for a mammoth 27 rebounds, 16 of those being defensive rebounds.

Unsurprisingly, the home Suns crowd were not happy with what they saw, leading to widespread boos before fans just left the arena early.

“They expect so much out of us and they pay their hard-earned money, and they deserve to react how they want to react,” Suns star forward Kevin Durant said.

“It’s on us as players to use it as fuel, and hopefully it ignites us for the next game.”

Guard Bradley Beal added: “I’ve never been swept a day in my life, I’ll be damned if that happens.”

No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs but Devin Booker was confident, saying: “They say nobody’s ever done it before, that’s exciting.”

Suns head coach Frank Vogel added: “There’s no quit in our group. This group does not want the season to come to an end.”

‘Not a quitter’ – Embiid overcomes Bell’s palsy adversity to lead 76ers to Knicks victory

April 26, 2024

Joel Embiid overcame a knee problem and his recent Bell’s Palsy diagnosis by leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 125-114 win over the New York Knicks in their third playoff match.

Embiid’s 50-point haul cut the series deficit to 2-1 in the third game of this first round Eastern Conference series, which is all the more remarkable in light of his recent physical and mental adversity.

He was recently diagnosed with a form of the facial paralysis as well as battling his way back from knee surgery, showcasing his fighting spirit.

“It’s been tough. But I’m not a quitter. I’m going to keep fighting through anything.”

The 30-year-old holds the franchise-best record of scoring 70 points in a match with the San Antonio Spurs in January, and showed his clinical nature on Thursday after being the first player in NBA history to take 50 points on fewer than 20 shots in a playoff game.

Embiid won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award in 2023 and spoke in more detail about the condition which he has suffered since the 76ers’ win over the Miami Heat on April 17.

“I battled migraines and thought it was nothing. Usually I like to tough it out, but for some reason I ended up having to tell somebody,” he added.

“It’s unfortunate, that’s the way I look at it. But that’s not an excuse. Got to keep pushing.”

Jalen Brunson top scored for the Knicks with 39 points, while Josh Hart took 20 on an otherwise disappointing night for the New Yorkers.

Nuggets move closer to Lakers clean sweep

The Denver Nuggets extended their series lead at 3-0 over the Los Angeles Lakers with a 112-105 victory, with Aaron Gordon taking 29 points to take the Colorado side on the verge of a clean sweep.

Nikola Jokic added a further 24 points to put Denver on the cusp of the second round after the reigning NBA champions won a 11th consecutive match against the Lakers.

“They were up 20 in Denver, they were up 12 today in the first half, but I think it’s really hard to play against the same team over and over again. That’s a really tough team, and every game is really interesting and tough to win. Every game we’re playing catch-up, and they’re really talented. It’s really hard to close a team out.”

The writing appears to be on the wall for the Lakers, with no NBA team having ever recovered from a 0-3 playoff deficit to progress.

Anthony Davis top scored for the Lakers with 33 points, while LeBron James added another 26 points against a side they have not beaten since December 16, 2022.

“You come out with the mindset, ‘Let’s get one, force a Game 5, and then we go from there,’” said James.

“As long as you still have life, then you obviously have belief. I just think you play ’til the wheels fall off. That’s what it’s always about for me. That’s a mindset, and I know (Davis) feels the same way.”

Orlando Magic created unwanted history for Cavaliers

Elsewhere, the Orlando Magic powered past the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 121-83 victory to inflict their worst loss in franchise playoff history.

The Cavaliers still lead this Eastern Conference series 2-1 despite this defeat, but it proved to be a sobering night as Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs led the way with 31 and 24 points respectively for the Floridians.

Banchero is guarding against complacency though, as they look to level the series in the next match on Saturday.

“We know we have to do the same thing on Saturday. Obviously we’re proud of the win tonight. It is big for this group to get your first playoff win but we want the whole series.”

Jarrett Allen led the way for the Cavaliers for 15 points, while Caris Levert and Donovan Mitchell added a further 15 and 13 points respectively.

“We knew they were going to come out with a punch but we’ve got to find a way to score and it starts with me,” Mitchell explained.

“You don’t get two wins for winning by more than 20, so you’ve got to keep it in that perspective.

“At the end of he day we could have lost by 20 or 40, it doesn’t matter. It’s one win.”

Former All-Star Joakim Noah Talks NBA Africa, Community Initiatives in Chicago and Fatherhood

April 24, 2024

Standing at the top of Powder Mountain in Utah on a Tuesday afternoon in mid-March, Joakim Noah is calling in for our scheduled Zoom interview while on a family vacation with his kids during spring break. You can see the ski goggles resting on his forehead, as he adjusts the phone in front of him while the sun beams in the background. He’ll only have his camera on for a little while before he opts to go off-camera, as he finds himself on the move. He’s so gracious that he happily puts his family vacation on hold for a few minutes just to hop on a call with us, as we rushed to send our latest issue to printers.

Even when he turns his camera off, and despite being in the middle of a vacation, you can hear the passion in Noah’s voice when he begins to excitedly talk about the different community initiatives he’s currently working on, whether in Chicago or in Africa. It’s been years since he’s hooped on an NBA court, but the enthusiasm the former NBA All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year was always known for remains intact.

SLAM: Are there any new passions or hobbies that you’ve found during retirement that maybe you did not discover during your playing years, or just didn’t have the time to dedicate to while in the NBA?

Joakim Noah: Well, I’m not gonna lie to you, I’m on the top of a mountain right now overlooking—I’m on a ski slope right now. I just did three hours of skiing with my kids. My nephew just came for the first time from Maui. It’s his first time seeing snow. When you’re playing basketball in the NBA, you’re not allowed to do things like [skiing]. You don’t want to put yourself in a position to get hurt. So, I’ve been picking up skiing, that’s a good one. And just being able to travel and take time and not being rushed into getting back in playing shape. It’s a different kind of training. [Now] you train for health. Training for health and training for championships are two completely different things. I think that my nervous system appreciates it.

SLAM: Where’s your skiing skill level?

JN: Skill level, I would say I’m not comfortable going down heavy duty stuff. I’m not going down any black slopes. Or even blue slopes. I’m very comfortable staying in the green. You know, that’s seven feet, 260 pounds going down the slope. That’s a different animal.

SLAM: What new business endeavors have you been getting into?

JN: Being able to be an investor in the NBA Africa league, the BAL, has been a real blessing, because I’ve been able to travel all around the continent and just really learn from the best in the business with [President of the Basketball Africa League] Amadou Gallo Fall and [NBA Deputy Commissioner] Mark Tatum. You know, taking a leadership role in NBA Africa, and just really starting from scratch on the continent, and just watching this league flourish. We just came back from South Africa. It was packed, it’s a different energy. And we’re just getting started on something that I’m really excited about.

SLAM: What is your ultimate goal with the BAL? Where do you see it in 10 years?

JN: My ultimate goal is when you see African kids, like, doing a tween-tween hesi, then you know that we did something right. You haven’t really seen the African kids do the hesi-hesi yet, and that’s coming!

SLAM: It sounds like there’s a lot of untapped basketball potential in Africa, plus also a business model structure to enable the league to flourish.

JN: There’s definitely a business model structure. But the continent is 54 different countries and the fastest growing youth population in the world. So, the math adds up. But it’s also understanding that when you’re playing in systems in America, you get to play in a beautiful gym, you have your school’s high school rival, you have your little girlfriend that’s coming to watch you play, mom and dad are coming to watch you play. Like, these are all things that places around the world don’t have. So, the problem with Africa is the lack of—this isn’t a sport that’s part of African culture. So, it’s really starting from scratch. And understanding that the issues are lack of infrastructure and lack of basketball education, even when it comes to refereeing, when it comes to coaching.

A lot of people are putting in the time and making long trips and teaching, [running] basketball and coaching clinics, clinics for the referees. Just to see how far the growth has come in the last five years is just astounding, but we still have a lot of work to do.

SLAM: How did you end up connecting with the BAL?

JN: I think, for me, it was having a relationship with the president of the BAL, Amadou Gallo Fall, who was a dear friend of mine throughout my career. Even though he was the guy who was a scout for the Dallas Mavericks, [and] I never played with the Mavericks, [he] was just somebody that I always connected with. And I think that that’s something that I realize now that I’m done playing. You realize that when basketball is over with, all you have in the end is just your relationships and your memories. So, I think that’s just important to sometimes [remember], there’s so much money involved, and it’s so easy to get caught up in the business. Just make sure that you go out on your terms, and that you make solid, solid relationships and solid bonds.

SLAM: Are there some non-basketball endeavors that you’re into that you might want to put on people’s radars?

JN: I think that most of the work that I’m doing right now is basketball-oriented. The other endeavor that I’m really excited about is this One City Basketball League that we created in Chicago. We’re working with 28 violence prevention groups all around the city and having at-risk youth playing basketball against each other, getting state funding and being able to build a basketball league that’s much bigger than basketball. We have financial literacy courses, job education, job training, and all this. Things are moving fast. I’m really excited with the development of our One City Basketball League. We’re doing special things. We’re really hoping to be able to grow it in other cities, and hopefully other guys around the League get inspired and want to do things in their neighborhoods. I really feel like the future of this league can be a national program. I think that’s very important in our communities in America.

SLAM: You mentioned fatherhood earlier. How has fatherhood changed you as a person after retirement? What is Joakim Noah, the father, like these days and what have you learned from your kids?

JN: It’s teaching me that it’s not about me, ever, especially when the kids are around you. When you’re playing, sometimes you feel like it’s about you, and the lights are on you. But my kids, I can be watching my favorite show on TV, and they’ll turn that right off [and] put on Moana. They don’t care.

SLAM: What do you think about the current state of basketball? What are some trends or things you like about the game today? And what are some things that you feel could be improved upon?

JN: Well, I think that the game is definitely more skilled. I think one through 15, even the guys who are just coming into the game, are just so good at basketball. I think that, obviously, the spacing is different. A lot of people are putting an emphasis on [saying that] there’s no defense and stuff like that, but I don’t think it’s the players’ fault. I think it’s just the way that the game is ref’d, the way that the game is, it’s completely different. They’re not letting you have any contact with guys. The game is a lot softer because that’s just the way the game is called. It’s just less physical. And I think it’s just putting a lot of pressure on the defense when you can’t use your hands, these are all things that were part of the game even 10 years ago that they’re not letting guys do anymore. So, I don’t think it’s a question of guys not wanting to play defense. I think it’s just the way it is officiated.

SLAM: Is there one thing you didn’t get a chance to do or try, or maybe you just were
apprehensive about, during your playing days that you look back on now and regret not doing?

JN: I think that my mind would say that I wish that I had developed a three-point shot. I think that would have definitely helped. But, you know, at the time, I was a rolling big—you set screens and you roll, and that was my role. That’s just the way the game was played. And what I tell the young guys all the time is, it’s about being as effective as possible and trying to affect winning. And when your mindset is trying to score points for yourself, I think that takes away from the ultimate goal, which is to win the ball game. I don’t really talk about Xs and Os too much, I don’t talk about technique, because that was never my strength. My strength was always being as available as possible for my teammates and being a good teammate, and doing whatever it takes to help win a basketball game.

Photo via Getty Images.

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