J-Speaks: Major Loss In Big-Time Win for the Portland Trail Blazers

On Tuesday night, the Portland Trail Blazers earned a big-time win at home versus the Brooklyn Nets, clinching a playoff spot. There was no celebrating after the victory as the current No. 3 Seed in stacked Western Conference sustained a serious loss to a key member of their squad. 

In the Trail Blazers (46-27) 148-144 double-overtime win versus the Nets (38-37), they lost their starting center Jusuf Nurkic, who had 32 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and four blocks suffered a devastating lower leg injury in the second overtime. 

While going for an offensive rebound while jumping for an offensive rebound, Nurkic came down awkwardly on his left leg while getting tangled amongst a few bodies under the basket. 

After the Bosnian native hit the ground in serious pain, the Nets players around him saw the severity of the injury he sustained and sprinted away in absolute disgust. 

There was a collective hush by the 20,188 in attendance at the Moda Center in Portland, OR as the Trail Blazers medical personnel rushed to the floor to attend to Nurkic. A stretcher was immediately called and with assistance from his teammates in All-Star Damian Lillard, Rodney Hood and Al-Farouq Aminu, the 7 foot-1 big man was loaded onto the stretcher. 

Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts, whose team improved to 4-2 in overtime this season called the 24-year-old Bosnian native’s injury after the game “Devastating.” 

Coach Stotts also said that he was taken to a local hospital but gave no further update about the state of Nurkic’s injury. 

According to ESPN, Nurkic suffered compound fractures to the tibia and fibula of his lower left leg and his 2018-19 season is done.  

The Trail Blazers are already without starting shooting guard CJ McCollum, who suffered a pulled muscle in the back of his left knee in the team’s 108-103 loss at the San Antonio Spurs last Saturday evening and is day-to-day. 

“Seeing something like that happen to him personally, you never want to see that with your friend or teammate, and then especially as a player, you don’t see anyone have to go through that and it’s also going to be hard on our team, you know,” Lillard, who had his third straight double-double of 31 points and 12 assists said after the victory about the loss of Nurkic.

“CJ is already out, now (Nurkic) him having a tough injury. So, everyway you look at it, it was a blow. It felt like it after the game.” 

Coach Stotts said on Monday that McCollum will not accompany the Trail Blazers on their four-game road trip but he is doing well in his recovery and hopes to be back in time for the playoffs in three weeks.  

“He’s progressing fine,” he said. “He will not go on the road trip. He will stay back and rehab and get some court work back here.” 

This is not the first time that Lillard has had experienced this. He said after the game that this moment reminded him of what happened to All-Star swingman Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder when he suffered a serious leg injury in the Team USA exhibition game in Las Vegas, NV in the summer of 2014. 

It also is similar to the heartbreaking ankle injury Boston Celtics’ All-Star swingman Gordon Hayward sustained on opening night of last season at the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Numerous players, as expected, quickly expressed messages of support via social media after seeing the extent of Nurkic’s injury. 

“Hate this part of the game. Prayers up for Nurkic!,” 13-time All-Star guard of the Miami Heat Dwyane Wade tweeted. 

“Never, never give up, my man Jusuf Nurkic…I know it’s hard…but you’ll come back to play…I’ll wait for you!!!” Los Angeles Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari tweeted. 

Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts called Nurkic’s injury after the game, “Devastating,” while also describing the entire locker room after the game as “quiet.” 

Reserve second-year big man Zach Collins said the mood of the locker room was like they lost and fellow reserve big man Enes Kanter said the team held a moment of silence for Nurkic following the game. 

“Nobody could really say anything after the game,” Kanter, who had 12 points and 10 boards off the bench versus the Nets said after the game, adding, “It’s tough man. I mean, seeing one of your brothers goes down like that, I mean, I just don’t know what to say.”

“I’m just going to go home and pray for him. This is bigger than basketball. We clinched the playoff spot but we can’t even celebrate. He was a big part of our family. Not our team, our family and I just don’t know what to say, man. It’s definitely tough, but I know with his mentality he’s definitely going to come back strong.” 

To put into perspective how close Nurkic and his teammates are with one another off the court, ESPN NBA reporter Royce Young said that randomly Nurkic came Lillard’s home the other day to see his son because they have become so close. 

One team that understands what Kanter said after the game is the Nets. Back in November, reserve swingman Caris LeVert at the Minnesota Timberwolves was carried off the Target Center floor with towels over his leg in what was thought to be a major leg injury. 

LeVert was able to return after a 42-game absence on Feb. 8 after going through rigorous rehabilitation on what eventually was diagnosed as a dislocation in his foot. 

The entire Nets team came over to Nurkic to wish him well as he exited the court on a stretcher. 

“That’s what our guys are talking about in the locker room right now,” a very sad Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said to the media about Nurkic’s injury. “They’re not talking about the game or the loss. You just pray that it’s not a long-term thing and he can bounce back but it just takes the wind out of yourself; it’s just not the same and like I said, we’ve been through it, so it’s tough--tough for the crowd, tough for everybody.”  

Besides the personal loss of Nurkic, the Trail Blazers said goodbye for this season to a player that was their third leading scorer behind Lillard and McCollum of 15.4 points and was their leading rebounder at 10.3 in the 71 games he played this season. 

Beyond the numbers, Nurkic provided a toughness on both ends of the floor for the Trail Blazers to where when he set screens on opposing players, they felt it and it gave Lillard, McCollum, Hood and Seth Curry to make open perimeter shots or drives to the basket. 

The good news if there is any for the Trail Blazers is that they have options to go to at the center position. Kanter, whose been averaging 10.4 points and 7.1 rebounds since coming over to the Trail Blazers after being waived by the Knicks back in February will likely become the starting center in place of Nurkic. Behind him will be Collins and Meyers Leonard, who had fallen out of the rotation since the addition of Kanter to the roster. 

The bad news is neither of them bring the aforementioned physical presence that Nurkic did. While Kanter has brought scoring and rebounding on both ends, he simply has been one of the poorest defensive players in the league. 

Is Collins ready to for heavy minutes where he will be counted on to produce and is Leonard, who as mentioned earlier has been out of the regular rotation ready to perform if called upon? 

These are the questions that are staring the now No. 3 Seeded Trail Blazers right in their face as they begin a four-game road trip, stopping at the Chicago Bulls (21-54) on Wednesday night, who originally drafted Nurkic in 2014. The Trail Blazers will then play at the Atlanta Hawks (27-48), Detroit Pistons (37-37) and Minnesota Timberwolves (33-41). Their final five games of this regular season consists of a tilt versus the Memphis Grizzlies (30-44) on Apr. 3; a home-and-home set with the No. 2 Seedin the West Denver Nuggets (50-23) on Apr. 5 on ESPN and then on Apr. 7. They will be at the Los Angeles Lakers (33-41) two nights later and finish the regular season on the back end of a back-to-back versus the Sacramento Kings (37-37). 

On paper, the Trail Blazers, who have won four consecutive games fighting for homecourt advantage in the opening round of the playoffs that is two weeks away from this weekend should go 6-3. However, as we have seen in recent days as the 2018-19 NBA regular-season is winding down, no game is guaranteed. 

What is also not guaranteed is a lengthy NBA career. Nurkic’s injury is a reminder of some of the big men in the history of the Trail Blazers whose promising career has been derailed by a serious lower body injury. 

Foot injuries and surgeries limited Hall of Famer Bill Walton, who led “Rip City” to their first and only championship over fellow Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J.” Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers in 1977 in six games and helped the Boston Celtics to their 16^th title defeating the Houston Rockets and eventual Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon also in six games. In a career where he averaged 13.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks on 52.1 percent from the field, he only played in 468 out of 1,066 regular season games, which averages out to just 43.9 percent. 

Foot injuries Sam Bowie, the No. 2 overall pick in 1984 out of the University of Kentucky by the Trail Blazers seemed like a cannot miss prospect but a serious leg injury in the 1985-86 season, similar to the one Nurkic sustained and many other injuries in that same leg cut short his time with the team and he was never the same in his subsequent combined six seasons with the then New Jersey Nets, even though he averaged 12.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks and the Lakers. Knee injuries also cut short the NBA career of former No. 2 overall pick by the Trail Blazers in 2007 center Greg Oden out of Ohio State University. 

The one good thing that Nurkic has in his favor is medical advances give him a chance to come back better than ever from an injury like the one he sustained on Monday night. 

It will not be an easy road back though for him and he can look at George and Hayward as examples. It took George two years to be back to his old form that made him an All-Star and Hayward is going through that this season. 

Monday night was a great example of how the fortunes for a team and a player can change in the blink of an eye. The Portland Trail Blazers instead of quietly celebrating clinching their sixth consecutive playoff appearance with their double-overtime win versus the Nets were mourning the loss of their teammate Jusuf Nurkic to a devastating knee injury. Not only is his NBA career up in the air if he can comeback but the hopes of having home court advantage in the First-Round, let alone making it past the opening round are in serious jeopardy, especially after their opening round four-game sweep at the hands of All-Star Anthony Davis and the No. 6 New Orleans Pelicans last spring. 

The Trail Blazers prospects for this postseason and next season completely changed with the loss of Nurkic, an all too familiar feeling that the fans of “Rip City” and their current face of the franchise have come to know all too well. 

“Every little thing about the game and about the NBA season and NBA career, it’s fragile,” Lillard said. “You can be on a team one day, gone the next. You can be healthy one day, injured the next. Have a job one day, fired the next. It’s a lot of things about the game that’s fragile and that’s one of them; it’s one of the more unfortunate ones.”

The hope is that Nurkic’s career will not meet the same heart-breaking fate that Walton’s, Bowie’s, and Oden’s did.

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 3/26/19 1 a.m. edition of ESPN’s “Sportscenter” from Los Angeles, CA with Neil Everett and Stan Verrett, with report from Royce Young; 3/26/19 ESPN news crawl; www.espn.com/nba/game/recap?gameid=401071779;  https://www.nba.com/games/20190325/BKNPOR#/boxscore/recap; www.espn.com/nba/standings;  3/26/19 www.espn.com story, via “The Associated Press,” “Blazers Lose Nurkic To Severe Leg Injury, Edge Nets in 2 OTs;” 3/26/19 www.espn.com story, “Blazers’ Nurkic Suffers Compound Leg Fractures,” by Royce Young; https://www.nba.com/games/20190327/PORCHI#/preview; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Walton; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Oden#Professional_career; https://en.m.wikipedia/wiki/Sam_Bowie#NBA_career; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caris_LeVert#2018-19_season; and https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bowiesa01/html.  

J-Speaks: Hornets Two Big Wins

With their playoff hopes on life support, the Charlotte Hornets needed two big wins in a weekend back-to-back set against two of the Top 5 teams record wise in the Eastern Conference. They came up aces in those back-to-back tilts first at home and then an epic finish on the road. 

On Sunday night, reserve guard Jeremy Lamb brought a dose of NCAA March Madness to Toronto, Ontario banking in a three-pointer from midcourt at the buzzer to give the Hornets (34-39) a 115-114 win at the Toronto Raptors (51-23), their third straight victory. 

“I have no idea, man,” Lamb, who had 15 points hitting 3 for 4 from three-point range said to FOX Sports Southeast’s Ashley ShahAhmadi after the win, “I just want to thank Jesus Christ cause that’s the only way that shot went in.”  

Only current Indiana Pacers’ reserve guard Tyreke Evans 49-footer at the buzzer against the Memphis Grizzlies on Dec. 29, 2010 was longer than Lamb’s 48-footer he hit on Saturday night, according to ESPN.  

This is on the heels of their 18-point comeback win versus the Boston Celtics (43-31) on Saturday night 124-117, as they outscored the No. 5 Seeded C’s 35-19 in the final period.  outscored the No. 5 Seeded Boston Celtics 35-19 in the fourth period. 

These last two wins demonstrated not only the Hornets mental toughness against two Eastern Conference teams with championships aspirations but they found a way to win games by making big plays when it mattered most and got contributions from multiple players. 

In the final eight minutes of their win versus the Celtics on Saturday night, the Hornets outscored them 30-5, going 9 for 16 from the field, including 6 for 9 from three-point range, with three-time All-Star Kemba Walker scoring 18 of his 36 points on 6 for 10 shooting in those last 7:43 of the final period. He went 11 for 25 overall from the floor on that evening, including 6 for 13 from three-point range, with 11 rebounds and nine assists.

“You just keep playing,” Walker, who had his 23^rd game of the season scoring 30 or more said after the win versus the Celtics. “In the league, anything can happen. Once one team gets momentum, things can change really fast.” 

While Walker was at his absolute best on this night as he has been all season long, the Hornets got a stellar performance from rookie Miles Bridges had a career-high of 20 points, while Marvin Williams and second-year sharp shooter Malik Monk each chipped in 13 points and fellow rookie Dwayne Bacon scored 11. 

In the Hornets epic victory on Sunday night at the Raptors, Walker had a double-double of 15 points and 13 assists, with four steals but was just 3 for 17 from the field on the evening. 

Bacon picked up the slack scoring a career-high of 20 points on 7 for 14 shooting, including 5 for 8 from three-point range. Bridges followed up his career-high scoring night with 16 points and six rebounds. Reserve big man Willy Hernangomez had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Rookie guard Devonte’ Graham, who had two big defensive plays down the stretch against the Celtics had 10 points and nine assists in 22 minutes off the bench. Williams had 10 points.

“Well they looked confident. They looked like they belonged. They want to be out there,” Hornets first-year head coach James Borrego said to ShahAhmadi about the play of Bacon, Bridges and Graham the last two nights. 

“They’re stepping up right now. What a great action for them right now, just to get these minutes in this type of environment. Couldn’t be anymore happy for them. Their growth, you know, every single game is there...Our young guys have really stepped up. So, really proud of them.” 

The Hornets dominated the Raptors for the first three quarters and took a 12-point lead (95-83) into the fourth period, thanks to hitting 10 for 16 from three-point range in the third quarter and went 18 for 41 from distance on the night. The 10 threes set a new franchise record, with five of those triples coming of the right hand of Bacon. 

Trailing 109-96 with 7:50 left, Raptors responded with a 10-0 run behind reserve guard Fred VanVleet hit back-to-back triples, which was followed by dunks from Pascal Siakam and Kawhi Leonard that cut the deficit to 109-106. Leonard, who had 28 points on the night cut the Hornets lead to one with a jumper. 

After Bacon split a pair of free throws one possession later, he and Siakam swapped layups before Leonard tied things up at 112-112. 

Leonard hit the go-ahead basket with 44.0 seconds left, to cap an 18-3 overall run and blocked Walker’s go-ahead shot at the other end. He could not close the game out though as his next jumper was off, giving the Hornets a chance to either tie the game or win it with a triple. 

Siakam knocked away the inbounds pass from Bacon to Lamb, who was able to chase the ball into the backcourt and launched the prayer that as previously mentioned banked in at the buzzer. 

Along with getting balanced offensive production, the Hornets won on back-to-back nights because they did the little things as well. 

The Hornets were able to win versus the Celtics on Saturday night thanks to their 22-28 night from the charity stripe; out-rebounding the visitors 63-50, including 14-7 on the offensive glass and going 18 for 38 from three-point range. 

In the win at the Raptors, the Hornets out-rebounded the Raptors 45-41, including 14-3 on the offensive glass; had 32 assists and just eight turnovers, while turning 13 Raptors miscues, 12 of which on steals into 18 points.  

“I couldn’t be more proud of them I think,” Borrego said to ShahAhmadi after the win at the Raptors. “I’m so happy for them. They deserved this win. They battled, they’re sticking together, they’re playing for each other-32 assists again tonight, 26 last night. The ball is moving.” 

“On the road, in a very tough environment. A fully loaded Toronto team. I was just proud of them, on both ends of the floor. They’re playing for each other. I thought we defended very well tonight, gave ourselves a chance. They made a run there at the end and we figured out a way to close out another close game here on the road.” think everybody contributed. Everybody played well. They want on a big run. I’m just thankful that last shot went in.” 

With their playoff hopes on life support, the Hornets could have easily in both games could have wilted but walked the tight rope and found a way to get it done and remain two games of the Miami Heat (36-37) for the No. 8 and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. In between them though are the No. 9 Seeded Orlando Magic (35-38), who are one game in front of them. 

These two wins have given the Hornets the opportunity to play meaningful games the final three weeks of the 2018-19 NBA regular-season as they try to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016, where they lost in seven games in the First-Round against the Heat. 

The advantage the Hornets have is they have the edge in the season series against the Magic 2-1, with the final tilt at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC on Apr. 10, the final night of the regular-season. They split four meetings with the Heat this season at 2-2. 

The disadvantage for the Hornets, six of their final nine games are on the road, which includes a four-game West Coast trip from Mar. 29-Apr. 3 at the Los Angeles Lakers, the back-to-back defending champion Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans. 

The goal the Hornets had coming into this season was to make the playoffs. They are in position to make that a reality. While it will be tough, these winning three straight and two on a rough back-to-back against the Celtics and Raptors should give the Hornets some confidence as they close this season trying to play past Apr. 10. 

“Every game is huge. It feels good to come out and get a big road win, especially at this point in the season but we got a lot of work to do and we’re going to keep fighting,” Lamb said to ShahAhmadi. 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 3/24/19 6 p.m. “Charlotte Hornets versus Toronto Raptors,” on FOX Sports Southeast with Eric Collins, Dell Curry, and Ashley ShahAhmadi; 3/24/19 8:30 p.m. edition of “Hornets Live,” presented by Cook Out on FOX Sports Southeast with Eric Collins, Dell Curry, and Ashley ShahAhmadi; www.espn.com/nba/recap/boxscore/teamstats?gameid=401071760; www.espn.com/nba/recap/boxscore/teamstats?gameid=401071771; www.espn.com/nba/standings; 3/25/19 6 a.m. edition of ESPN’s “Sportscenter,” with Steve Levy and John Anderson; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Charlotte_Hornets_seasons.  

J-Speaks: Historic Comeback Win By Nets at Kings

There is one word to simply describe the 2018-19 Brooklyn Nets, resilient. Whether it is guys stepping up in place of their teammates who missed games because of injury or how they were once 10 games under .500 and battle back to be right in the thick of the bottom part of the playoff race in the East, the Nets have simply battled and earned their opportunity to be in the postseason this spring. They flashed some of that brilliance in a historic come from behind win in the capital city of California. 

For the first three quarters of their Tuesday night tilt at the Sacramento Kings, the Nets just did not have it and were staring at their third consecutive loss on their season-high seven-game road trip facing a 103-78 deficit entering the fourth period. Head coach Kenny Atkinson tried everything from quick timeouts, expressing his anger to his team about their play, to having animated discussions individually with his players. He even switched the defense from a man-to-man to a zone. 

Behind first-time All-Star D’Angelo Russell and a handful of Nets (38-36) reserves, they turned the tide in a big way as the Nets outscored the Kings (35-36) 45-18 in the fourth quarter for an epic 123-121 win to snap their three-game losing streak and improve to 1-3 on their road trip. 

“We were at our wit’s end, it was kind of desperation,” Coach Atkinson said after the win. “It was a little bit like, ‘Let’s conserve our main guys and kind of play it out.’ I wasn’t expecting an amazing comeback, I just have to be honest. And then slowly but surely we started cutting the lead.” 

Atkinson added, “The coaching was terrible. The zone was terrible. I used up my timeouts. They never responded. We put a group of players out there that have a great bond and a great spirit and were working their tails off behind closed doors. It was 100 percent on them. That’s player ownership.” 

This victory was on the heels of three very tough losses by the Nets to begin their road trip. 

They were outscored 66-44 in the second half in their 108-96 loss at the Oklahoma City Thunder (43-30) on Mar. 13 on ESPN. 

They were absolutely dominated at the Utah Jazz (43-30) 114-98 three nights later, getting out-rebounded them 75-49; outscored them in the paint 48-38 and turned 15 turnovers, nine of which were steals into 24 points. 

In their Mar. 17 tilt at the Los Angeles Clippers, the Nets led by as many 19 (46-27) in the second quarter but a 33-9 run by the Clippers had them behind 60-55 at intermission. They overcame two double-digit deficits in the second half, including a 116-106 deficit with 1:06 left in the contest to tie it up with a 10-0 run, capped by a DeMarre Carroll dunk with 05.3 seconds left. Top candidate for Kia Sixth Man of the Year and the all-time leading scorer off the bench in Lou Williams for the Clippers broke the Nets hearts as he capped his 11-point fourth quarter with the game-winning triple at the buzzer to give the Clippers (43-30) a 119-116 win.  

Russell led the charge in the fourth scoring 27 of his career-high 44 points in the final frame. He finished 17 for 33 from the field overall including 6 for 15 from distance with 12 assists and four steals. 

He outscored the Kings by himself in the final period 27-18 and the game was won on a layup with 00.8 seconds left by reserve forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, the longest tenured Net as the Nets rallied from a 28-point deficit in the second half.

RHJ took the inbounds pass from sharp shooter Joe Harris, first looked for Russell, who was doubled and with the clock running down decided to drive to the hoop from three-point range, went around a Kings defender near the hoop to score the game-winner.  

Russell’s epic finish came on the heels of a 17-point first half and having zero points in the third period before he shot the lights out of Golden 1 Center going 10 for 15 from the floor in the fourth quarter with four of his six triples. 

“I give a lot of credit to our bigs,” Russell, whose 27 points in the fourth period are the most in that frame by an NBA player this season said after the win. “They set screens and got me open, got me downhill. Once you get downhill, any player that can get downhill and see the floor like that, and see the rim wide open, the sky’s the limit.” 

To put into context how historic of a win this was for the Nets, this represented the fourth largest comeback in NBA history from 25-plus points down to start the final quarter. 

The Milwaukee Bucks overcame a 28-point deficit (104-76) to win at the Atlanta Hawks 117-115 on Nov. 25, 1977. 

The Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal three-time defending champion led Los Angeles Lakers outscored the Dallas Mavericks 44-15 in the fourth to overcome a 27-point deficit (88-61) after three quarters for a 105-103 win on Dec. 2, 2002. 

The defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers led by four-time Kia MVP LeBron James were leading the Hawks 93-67 at the end of the third quarter and were outscored 59-32 in the fourth quarter and overtime to fall at the Hawks 126-125. 

In the history of the National Basketball Association, the all-time mark for teams behind by that much in the fourth period in the 24-second shot-clock era was 4-3,028. 

Russell also made some individual history on this night as he set the Nets single-season record for threes made with 202, surpassing the 201 made by his teammate Allen Crabbe a season ago. 

This game also represented the third time this season Russell scored 40-plus this season. He joined former Net Stephon Marbury and current Dallas Mavericks guard Devin Harris as the only players in franchise history with 30-plus point, 10-plus assists games back-to-back as Russell had 32 points and 10 assists in the last second loss at the Clippers on Sunday evening. He joined now Hawk Vince Carter and John Williamson as the only players in franchise history to have three games scoring 40-plus on the road. 

In an era thanks to social media where we are quick to be the first to call something like when a professional athlete’s career is over; when a team’s decision to trade, acquire or give on a player way too soon or to decide a team is not good enough to reach the postseason. 

That is definitely the case for Russell who after being selected as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Lakers was such a lost cause after two seasons that they dealt him along with the contract of Timofey Mozgov to the Nets. 

Well Russell’s performance this season, especially the last two games showed he is not only a bonified player in the NBA but will be a very rich one this off-season as he will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. 

He showed as much on Friday night with 21 points, 13 assists and three steals in the Nets 111-106 win at the Lakers (31-41), who were officially eliminated from postseason contention. Russell became the first Net since All-Star Kenny Anderson in the 1993-94 season to have three straight 20-plus point, 10-plus assists performances in three straight games. It was also his third consecutive double-double, a career-best, where he has registered a total of 97 points and 35 assists in his last three games. 

The Nets improved with the win at the Lakers to 2-3 on their road trip and dropped the Lakers to their fifth consecutive loss at home and to 1-10 in their last 11 games. 

Williams, said after the Clippers win versus the Nets about his former Laker teammate Russell about being a late bloomer, “He’s not a late bloomer at all. I think people expect you to be a star right away nowadays in this league. This guy’s in his fourth year and he’s an All-Star…So, that’s early to me.” 

What helped Russell is the fact that Coach Atkinson believed in him when his opportunity came this season with the injury earlier in the season to guard Caris LeVert. Russell capitalized on his chance and Coach Atkinson put the ball in his hands, and he took that opportunity and ran with it. 

It also helps that Russell is part of a team building a winning culture where they enjoy being around one another and rooting for one another to succeed, a big difference from what he experienced in his first two seasons in the L.A. 

“I think this says a lot about his character,” future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce said on the Wednesday edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN, “because when you get traded as a No. 2 Pick before your rookie contract that’s like, ‘Wow. They’re already calling you a bust.’ And so, I think just his attitude to like, ‘Look, I want to prove everybody wrong.’ That’s just showing the fire that I want to get better.” 

“For him to do that and become an All-Star in Brooklyn, be part of a whole new culture, the coach believing in him. It’s a combination of a lot of things that sparked the fire under this kid.” 

Being resilient is something that is not easy to be, especially in professional sports. It takes a lot of will, focus and belief in yourself and others to be resilient. The Brooklyn Nets have been the perfect definition of resiliency this season and they showed that on Tuesday night in their epic comeback at the Sacramento Kings, led by D’Angelo Russell. As a result, the Nets will be the ones this season in the playoffs, if they finish this season out right and the Lakers will be the ones seeing their season conclude on Apr. 10. 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of  https://www.nba.com/games/20190319/BKNSAC#/boxscore/recap; 3/20/19 ESPN news crawl; 3/20/19 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia with Matt Winer, Mike Fratello, and Sekou Smith; 3/20/19 3 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Paul Pierce, Tracy McGrady and Zach Lowe;  www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/bkn; 3/22/19 10:30 p.m. “Brooklyn Nets versus the Los Angeles Lakers” on Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES) with Ryan Ruocco, Sarah Kustok, and Richard Jefferson; 3/23/19 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by State Farm with Rick Kamla, Dennis Scott, and Drew Gooden; www.espn.com/nba/standings; https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/20170409ATL.html; https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200212060LAL.html;  https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/19771125ATL.html; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Williamson_(basketball,_born_1951).    

J-Speaks: Harden's Career-High Tying Scoring Night

On Jan. 23, the Houston Rockets escaped with a four-point win at the New York Knicks, thanks to a career-high and franchise record scoring night from the NBA’s leading scorer James Harden. It was an unforgettable performance by the reigning Kia MVP who has turned in plenty of them so far this season. He added another chapter to his stellar season on Friday night versus the Rockets’ interstate and Southwest Division rivals. 

In the Rockets 111-105 win versus the five-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs (42-31) on Friday night, James Harden scored a career-high tying and franchise-tying 61 points on 19 for 34 from the field, including 9 for 13 from three-point range and 14 for 17 from the free throw line. 

“I felt great from the beginning of the game,” Harden, who began the night with 27 points of the Rockets 36 points in the first quarter on 7 for 10 from the field, including 3 for 4 from three-point range and 10 for 12 from the charity stripe said to NBATV’s Ro Parrish, Lionel Hollins, and Rex Chapman after the win. “I was in attack mode. My shot was feeling good, and I just tried to keep that rhythm and that pace the entire game.”

It was the second time this season that Harden scored 61, with the first coming in the Rockets (46-27) 114-110 win at the Knicks (14-59) as mentioned in late January, going 17 for 38 from the field, including going 5 for 20 from three-point range and 22 for 25 from the free throw line, setting a new MSG record for an opponent while also registering 15 rebounds and five steals in 40 minutes. 

This 61-point performance by Harden where he had seven rebounds and three steals represented the highest individual scoring output against a Gregg Popovich coached team, where he went 10 for 18 shooting in the first half for 37 points, a Rockets record for points in a half and 9 for 16 in the second half for 24 points. 

“We gave up a million points in the first quarter, they had 19 free throws in the first half and none in the third quarter,” Coach Popovich said after the loss. “You play with your heart and you play in between the ears, also, so we played smarter and harder in the second half, but you can’t do that against a good team like Houston or any team in the NBA. You got to play for 48 minutes and we played the last two quarters, and at the end, you know James put on an MVP performance. So, that’s that.” 

When asked by Chapman, who remembers seeing Harden play on many occasions back when he was playing for the Arizona State Sun Devils if he ever could imagine having the kind of scoring performance, he had against Coach Popovich and the Spurs? 

His answer, “No. Not in a million years. Not in a million years,” adding, “but you know Rex, I work hard every single day to be the best I can be, you know, and even nights and days when I don’t want to get up or I’m tired, or whatever the case may be. Because honestly like I got a chance to be one of the best players to ever touch a basketball.” 

“As a kid that’s something you dream of. And so, that’s the mindset and that’s what I wake up every single day and go get.” 

Harden without question had that get after it attitude on Friday night scoring 37 points in the opening half as he reached the 30-point mark early in the second quarter and hit the 40-point mark with about nine minutes left in the third period. 

The Spurs however came back into the contest as they overcame a 62-47 halftime deficit to tie the score at 81 a piece entering the fourth quarter and were on the high side of the scoreboard at 100-94 with four minutes remaining. 

The Rockets, who were outscored by the Spurs 57-45 in the middle two quarters responded with a 13-2 run to take a 107-102 lead thanks to three straight made three-pointers by Harden and two difficult made two-point baskets. 

“The Spurs do a really good job of trying to take away my perimeter shots. So, it was me being in attack mode and being aggressive tonight,” Harden, who scored 118 points the last two games, the most since future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant did it back in the 2006-07 campaign said after the win. “They made a huge run in that second and third quarter and even in the fourth quarter and we just tried to keep our tempo, get some stops when we needed to, and I wanted to be aggressive.” 

To put into context what Harden did on Friday night, he tied Elgin Baylor for the fourth most 60-point games in NBA history in the regular-season with three. Only the great Michael Jordan (four), Bryant (six) and the late great Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlin (32) have done it more. 

He topped the 50-point mark for the eighth time this season, as compared to the 10 performances combined by the rest of “The Association.” 

Including his 57-point performance in the Rockets 126-125 overtime loss at the Memphis Grizzlies (29-43) on Wednesday night, Harden has scored a total of 118 points the last two games, joining Bryant, Jordan, and Chamberlin as the only players in the NBA history to score that many points over a two-game span. Harden also on Friday night passed former Rocket Joe Johnson to move into 10^th place on the all-time three-pointers made list and his eight triples away from passing Hall of Famer Jason Kidd into ninth place. 

Along with the three times he has scored 60-plus in his career, Harden has scored 50-plus 15 times and has 59 career games scoring 40-plus. 

“You know, I’ve said it before, so I don’t want to be so redundant but, you can’t get better offense than just what he did,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said of Harden’s performance versus the Spurs. “I mean, it was so pure, he threes were unbelievable. The bank shot that he had towards the end. His drives, putting pressure on anybody that wants to guard him. That was impressive.” 

“Of all the things like for the MVP race and all that but my gosh, that’s a whole different level.” 

Earlier in the week, Harden scored 31 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists in the Rockets 121-105 win at the Atlanta Hawks (25-48) on Tuesday night, meaning he has scored 30 against all the other 29 teams not for his career but this season, a new NBA record. He joined Jordan and Boston Celtic Hall of Famer Larry Bird to accomplish that feat since the 1976-77 NBA merger. When Bird and Bird accomplished this in the 1984-85 and 1986-87 seasons respectably, there were only 23 total teams in “The Association,” according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“I’m just saying, we keep mentioning him along Larry Bird, Jordan, Wilt Chamberlin, I mean, I’d already give this guy the MVP. I’d already crowned him the best player in the league,” NBA analyst and future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce said on the Wednesday edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN. “I don’t know why he doesn’t get his due but that is a tremendous feet.”    

Unlike those greats as mentioned earlier Harden a lot of times this season and for much of the past few years has gotten criticized for how he has gotten his numbers. People in the media and fans feel that he is a ball hog to where he is constantly going one-on-one and dribbling for much of the 24 seconds on the shot clock to score the amount of points he gets. 

That could not be any further from the truth. While Harden is scoring at a very high clip as evidence by the 32 straight games of scoring 30 points or more and is leading “The Association” in scoring at 36.5, he is also averaging 7.6 assists and 6.5 rebounds per contest this season. 

Also in the two years he finished second in the Kia MVP race, Harden finished behind Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder who joined Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double for a single season in 2016-17 and the year before that finished behind the first unanimous Kia MVP in Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors who finished with a single-season record 73 wins in the 2015-16 NBA campaign. 

Hall of Famer and prolific scorer during his career in Tracy McGrady said on that same edition of “NBA: The Jump” that Harden’s incredible offensive output the last five seasons in huge part because of Coach D’Antoni’s system designed for a player of his ability to “get buckets.” 

“This system, it creates a beast in a player that dominates the ball with shooters spread around,” he said. “I’m not taking anything away from James.” 

It is because Harden has been so prolific offensively that the Rockets were able to recover from an 11-14 start and out of the playoff picture in the early part of this season and with injuries to nine-time All-Star Chris Paul, sharp shooter Eric Gordon and starting center Clint Capela that the Rockets are now third in the unforgiving Western Conference with a 35-13 mark since then. 

“You’ve got to appreciate it,” Paul said of the historic scoring season his teammate Harden is having. “What he’s doing, that ain’t easy. I don’t care who you are.” 

Four-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan, who had 16 points, eight boards and eight assists in the loss, the Spurs third in four tries this season against the Rockets concurred by saying, “He’s really been in the zone all year with the things he’s been doing.”

“He’s been remarkable. You’ve got to tip your hats to him. When a guy gets going like that, it’s tough to slow him down.” 

While he only managed just one assists against the Spurs, Harden did make a conscious effort to get his teammates open shots because as he said to Parrish, Hollins, and Chapman after the game that he is “going to need.” 

“That little break in between the second and third quarter, Eric made some shots. He was aggressive guys were getting into their rhythm and I kind of like seem to bog down a little bit. So, in the fourth quarter I had to be aggressive and take my shots.” 

Paul scored 18 points on 7 for 15 shooting with five assists, while Gordon scored 12 points, hitting just 3 for 9 from three-point range. 

While Capela had just seven points in the game and the other starting forward PJ Tucker did not score, missing all three of three-point attempts, they each contributed on the boards with Capela getting 16 rebounds and Tucker had 10 boards with two block shots. 

Tucker also was big defensively as he held perennial All-Star and his former collegiate teammate at the University of Texas forward LaMarcus Aldridge to 10 points and four rebounds on 5 for 13 from the field. 

When Harden scored 61 the first time against the Knicks, he made the defensive play of the game by stealing the pass to forward Noah Vonleh on the Knicks final offensive possession in the closing seconds and sealed the game with a dunk off that for the four-point win. 

Along with an unquestioned will and focus the other thing that drives Harden is that he loves to play. When asked by Parrish on the new terms for players who sit out games because of rest called “load management,” Harden said with a smile, “What’s that?” 

He added, “I’m a Hooper. I’m a Hooper. I know hooping is not going to be here forever…The best days are when your legs are a little tired and your shot isn’t falling. Those are the best days because you got to figure out a way to get through it.” 

The Houston Rockets had as mentioned a rough start to this season being three games under .500, with thoughts that they were going to miss out on the playoffs after falling just one game short of reaching the NBA Finals last spring. Because of Harden and the historic scoring output he has had this season, which continued with his career-high and franchise tying 61 points on Friday night the Rockets are not only the No. 3 Seed in the West currently they have regained that necessary confidence that they can do what they did not last season and that is overtake the back-to-back defending champion Golden State Warriors, who they hope to see if both teams make it to the Western Conference Finals. 

That is why nights like what Harden had in Friday night’s win versus the Spurs do not really matter to him now. 

To Harden he is just doing what is necessary for the Rockets to win and that they have bigger goals in mind and he will not rest until that goal is reached, which is to win the organization’s third Larry O’Brien trophy in franchise history. 

“So, I’m not satisfied, we got a long-ways to go,” Harden, whose team has won 13 of their last 15 games and is 8-1 in their last nine games at Toyota Center said. 

 “We’re finally healthy. So, we got to catch a rhythm. Basically offensively, knowing where guys like to be defensively. Our rotations are going to be. What our coverages are once we get that rhythm. We have nine games to do it and then we’ll take it from there, but we’re excited.” 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 3/20/19 3 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump,” with Rachel Nichols, Paul Pierce, Tracy McGrady and Zach Lowe; 3/23/19 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by State Farm with Rick Kamla, Dennis Scott, and Drew Gooden, interview from Ro Parrish, Lionel Hollins, and Rex Chapman; https://www.nba.com/games/20190322/SASHOU#/matchup/boxscore/recap; and www.espn.com/nba/gamelog/_/id/3992/james-harden.  

J-Speaks: Nowitzki Passes Wilt Chamberlin on NBA's All-Time Scoring List

On Monday night, those fans in attendance left American Airlines Center disappointed as they saw their Dallas Mavericks drop another close contest. The night was not a total loss as they saw future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki, who possibly is playing his final season in the NBA make more history. 

The 7-footer, who has built his 21-year career, all with the Mavericks on his ability to make perimeter shots knocked down a 20-footer at the 8:35 mark of the first quarter in the Mavericks (28-43) to surpass the late great Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlin into the No. 6 spot on the “The Association’s” all-time scoring list in the team’s 129-125 overtime loss versus the New Orleans Pelicans (31-43). 

“Luka finds Dirk. Top of the key again. Over Williams, jumpers GOOD! The wait is over to pass Wilt. Returning to 6^th in NBA history in scoring Dirk Nowitzki,” was the call FOX Sports play-by-play analyst Mark Followill made when the best player in Dallas Mavericks history made the jumper to pass Chamberlin.

“Craziness,” was the word Nowitzki described about the milestone he just achieved to FOX Sports Southwest’s Jeff “Skin” Wade after the game, “but, you know its been a long time coming obviously.”

Only Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), and Karl Malone (36,928), future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant (33,643), four-time Kia MVP of the Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James (32,439 and counting) and current owner of the Charlotte Hornets and Hall of Famer Michael Jordan (32,292) are ahead of the 31,427 points Nowitzki has and counting, with James being the only active player in Top five, who tweeted from @KingJames, “Congrats Big Fella!!!! @swish41.” 

That was followed by a tweet from the Mavericks organization @dallasmavs, “Congrats @swish41! #GOAT #6 #MFFL.” 

Nowitzki, who finished with eight points, on 3 for 6 shooting needed just four points to move pass Chamberlin. He did so by making his first two shots of the contest, with the first being a 20-foot jumper of an assists from rookie guard Jalen Brunson. That was followed by the aforementioned connection from 20 feet by the 40-year-old native from Germany off a pass from the Rookie of the Year to be in Luka Doncic after Nowitzki backed down Pelicans rookie Kenrich Williams before he scored on his patented turnaround jumper from the top of the foul line. 

That assists by Doncic was part of his fifth triple-double on the season with 29 points, 10 assists, 13 rebounds. 

“Obviously I didn’t know the first two were going to go in right away but, you know stepped into them,” Nowitzki said to “Skin” Wade. “On the first one they switched and they kind of kicked out the little guy and it ended up being a wide-open look, and the second one I was kind of faced up and said, ‘It’s now or never,” and I shot it up high and went in. So, it was fun. It was good to be out there and the crowd was great.”  

Upon Nowitzki making the shot that moved him up the all-time scoring charts, a video tribute to him was played during a stoppage in the action where the 19,200 fans in attendance, which also included former teammate Shawn Marion that Nowitzki won the Mavericks only NBA title in 2011 gave a well-deserved applause to the No. 9 overall pick in 1998 NBA draft, who the Mavericks acquired his draft rights from the Milwaukee Bucks. 

A young fan in the stands had a picture of when Chamberlin that held a piece of paper with the number 100 in representation of his 100-point performance on Mar. 2, 1962 had a photoshopped paper that said, “Congrats Dirk!” 

It was fitting that Nowitzki passed Chamberlin on a jump shot, who achieved this career milestone differently than how Chamberlin, who is one inch taller than the Wurzburg, Germany native. 

Chamberlin, who once averaged more than 50 points in a season scored his points in the paint. He became such a dominant force down low that the NBA expanded the paint creating rules like the three-second violation to neutralize Chamberlin’s effectiveness, which had no effect. 

“He was probably in his era the most dominant player that we’ve ever seen,” Nowitzki said about Chamberlin to “Skin” Wade. “I mean, he scored 100. He averaged I think 40 over a whole season. He obviously didn’t play as long as I did, which means if you play long enough good things are going to happen, but he’s one of the most dominant scorers this league has ever scene obviously.” 

Nowitzki, while he had the ability to score in the paint, which he did, he made his living in the NBA on the perimeter to where he ranks No. 12 on the all-time three-pointers made list at 1,960 made triples. He is the only 7-footer on this list. 

To put this into context, before Nowitzki the only power forward or center to make at least over 20 threes in a season was Hall of Famer Arvydas Sabonis, the father of Indiana Pacers reserve big man Domantas Sabonis, who made 39, 49 and 30 threes in his first seasons of 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98 with the Portland Trail Blazers. 

Nowitzki’s marksmanship from the perimeter, especially from three-point range established a shift in the ability for big men 6-foot-10 and taller. Nowitzki was also very prolific at the charity stripe making on average 88 percent of his opportunities, which is 37 percent better than Chamberlin’s career percent of 51 percent at the charity stripe. 

“The league wanted a change, and I came in at the right time,” Nowitzki said after the game on Monday night. “They basically forced teams to do a little more movement and more pick-and-roll. All the guys now can shoot and spread the floor. It was just perfect for me and for my skill set.” 

That skill set is something that many NBA players now have in their offensive arsenal, but beyond the skill set of Nowitzki, his ability to enjoy the game as well as the work ethic and commitment he put into his craft is something that has earned him respect from not just teammates past and present but opponents and players that he has had a major impact on. 

Portland Trail Blazers (44-27) reserve big man Zach Collins said before his team’s 126-118 victory on Wednesday night, who was born the same year Nowitzki, who scored three points in the contest was a rookie called him “amazing.” 

He added, “Somebody that I’ve kind of watched and idolized growing up, and just can’t say enough of how much of a professional he is. How much he’s dedicated his whole life to this game. To be able to do something like pass Wilt Chamberlin on the scoring list just kind of speaks to his work ethic, and how much time you put into it. You can’t say enough good things about him.” 

Now one understands that work ethic more than former Mavericks assistant coach Terry Stotts, who was on that 2011 title team and Trail Blazers reserve sharp shooter Seth Curry, who was Nowitzki’s teammate for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons in “Big-D.” 

“It’s great. It’s great and Dirk deserves all the love he’s been getting this year. Obviously one of the greatest to ever play the game,” Curry, who had 20 points off the bench, hitting 4 for 7 from three-point range said to NBC Sports Northwest’s Brook Olzendam after the victory about the future Hall of Famer. “I learned so much personally from him, being with him for two years. So, its good to see him go out this way and ‘Rip City’ did a great job of showing that love.”

In fact, in the closing minute of the game, the 19,803 in attendance at the Moda Center in Portland, OR gave a standing ovation for Nowitzki who were chanting for him to get back on the floor one final time, which did not happen. 

While that skill set has diminished with age and injuries over the years for Nowitzki, it has not stopped him from continuously working on his game and giving himself a chance to be out on the floor in what possibly is his final season, even though Nowitzki has not made it official. 

Nowitzki missed the first 26 games of this season after having off-season ankle surgery back in April 2018 and is only averaging six points per game-15 below his career average. 

“Obviously everybody knew before the season there’s only 200 something points. It looked like for a while that I wasn’t going to get there, you know, with missing a bunch of games. Then December started really slow. Couldn’t really get into it, but fortunately the last couple of weeks just started feeling a lot better. The guys started looking for me. Obviously, they wanted it to happen. I’m a little sad it didn’t happen the other night…I’m glad it’s over with now. It’s still surreal passing another legend.” 

In a season where a lot has not gone right for the Dallas Mavericks, going 2-14 over their last 16 games, the best player in franchise history Dirk Nowitzki gave the Dallas faithful something to cheer about as he passed Wilt Chamberlin moving into No. 6 on the all-time scoring list. While he may not be the player he once was, he continues to be the shining light of what the Mavericks were and what they hope to be led by Doncic and an injured Kristaps Porzingis starting hopefully next season. 

What should be remembered is Nowitzki had a rough rookie season averaging just 8.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in 20.4 minutes in the strike shortened 1998-99 season. He went work in the seasons to come and made himself into a Kia MVP, which he won in 2007; a 14-time All-Star; a 12-time All-NBA selection; a 14-time All-Star and as previously mentioned an NBA champion eight seasons back as the 2011 MVP led the Mavericks to their first title over the Miami Heat in six games. 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of; 3/19/19 www.nba.com story, “Nowitzki Passes Chamberlin for 6^th All-Time Scoring List;” 3/19/19 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Kristen Ledlow, Dahntay Jones and Wes Wilcox;  https://www.nba.com/games/20190318/NOPDAL#/boxscore/recap; www.espn.com/nba/game?gameid=401071729;  3/21/19 10 p.m. contest “Dallas Mavericks versus the Portland Trail Blazers,” on NBC Sports Northwest with Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd and Brooke Olzendam; www.espn.com/nba/game?gameid=401071746; http://www.landofbasketball.com/all_time_leaders/3_pointers_total_career_seasons;” https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/sabonar01.html; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlin%27s_100-point_game; www.espn.com/nba/players/stats/_/id/3945274/luka-doncic;  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Curry; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirk_Nowitzki.