#nba

#nba

Former Bayern Munich stars Thomas Müller and Mats Hummels had a little get together in Berlin to watch the NBA game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Orlando Magic. As it turns out, the boys also ran into another familiar face - former Mainz 05, Borussia Dortmund, and Liverpool FC head coach (and future Real Madrid boss) Jürgen Klopp. German players (and brothers) Franz Wagner (18 points) and Mo Wagner (7 points) helped power the Magic to a 118-111 victory.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Memphis Grizzlies announced Wednesday center Zach Edey will miss another six weeks to recover from a stress reaction in his left ankle that has sidelined him since Dec. 7. Brandon Clarke and Scotty Pippen Jr. are expected to return to play in four to six weeks, but Edey's ankle appears likely to keep him out much longer.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Portland Trail Blazers reserve center Yang Hansen walked off the court on his own after a scary collision and head injury midway through the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. Hansen scrambled for a loose ball under the Blazers' basket with 6:55 remaining and was trying to pass it out when Golden State's Will Richard made contact to the back of Hansen's head with his knee.

David was a hero to me,

DALLAS - Cooper Flagg scored 27 points and matched a season high with three steals, and Naji Marshall had three straight baskets down the stretch and finished with 22 points as the depleted Dallas Mavericks beat the Brooklyn Nets 113-105 on Monday night. The Mavericks (15-25) snapped a two-game skid. Klay Thompson scored 18 off the bench and matched a season high with six 3-pointers.

I got an opportunity to experience probably one of the greatest basketball moments of my personal career,

I didn't really have it going tonight if I'm being honest," Edwards said. "Like I told them, 'I don't care what happens in the first three quarters. Fourth quarter, three minutes, four minutes left, let me see it. Y'all can have 50 points. But in the fourth quarter, four minutes left, for the rest of the game, let me get it.'

The Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Miami Heat 124-112 inside Paycom Center Sunday night. The Heat have now lost three-straight games, losing by 24, 28 and now 12 points, respectively. Trailing by five at halftime, the reigning champions outsocred the Heat 70-53, including 64-39 in the first 17:28 of the second half. Miami has been outscored by 46 combined points in the second half over its three-game skid.

Cedric Coward hit two late 3-pointers and scored 21 points to help the Memphis Grizzlies hold off the Brooklyn Nets 103-98 on Sunday. Jock Landale added 16 points and nine rebounds, and Santi Aldama had 15 points and eight rebounds. Cam Spencer had 12 points and 12 assists in the Grizzlies' last game before their two-game series against Orlando in Berlin and London.

"There will never be a chance, and there will never be a moment that I will come out and say, 'I want a trade,'" Antetokounmpo told The Athletic's Sam Amick in a recent interview. "'That's not ... in ... my ... nature. OK? '"

[They're] a team that plays a little bit different, a team that doesn't play with all our pace. But everything they do, they do with a lot of purpose, because they've been there before. And it's a great challenge. It's a great challenge because we have to be (focused), communication has to be on point, effort has to be on point. Then we've got to win the 50-50 battles and the rebounds.

School and work are officially back in session after the holiday break, so the weekend is the perfect time to get out and enjoy everything Los Angeles has to offer. There is an exciting sports matchup between the Lakers and Bucks happening right here in LA on Friday. There are also some must-watch playoff games for the Chargers and Rams going down this weekend on the road.

The scheduled game between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls was postponed on Thursday due to condensation on the court in Chicago. The United Center hosted a Chicago Blackhawks game on ice on Wednesday, and after an unseasonably warm, rainy day in Chicago, the basketball court wasn't in playable condition. Players from both teams went through their standard pregame warmup routines, but didn't consider the court safe for a game.

For a moment, it looked like the Nets had pulled off something improbable. Egor Dëmin had just drilled his fifth 3-pointer of the night, a contested, off-balance bomb over Wendell Carter Jr. to put Brooklyn ahead late in overtime. Barclays Center was buzzing. Michael Porter Jr. had carried the Nets all night. The comeback was complete. Or so it seemed.

LA Clippers center Ivica Zubac is available to return to action for Saturday's home game against the Boston Celtics, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania. It will be a quick return for Zubac after sustaining a Grade 2 ankle sprain during a Dec. 20 Clippers win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Zubac fell to the court in a heap late in the first quarter and immediately hobbled to the locker room for evaluation.

"One thing I don't want to see with Nikola is like, they started calling me 'injury prone' after that, but hopefully they don't start with him because it's one of those freak injuries that you can't really control," Durant said Thursday night after the Rockets beat the Nets 120-96 in his return to Brooklyn. "You can do all the work you can, but somebody falls into your knee, that's just tough."

NEW YORK -- The NBA saw its best Christmas Day viewership numbers in 15 years, the league announced Wednesday. More than 47 million people in the U.S. watched at least some of the five-game slate on ABC and ESPN, which represents a 45% increase over last year. And there was an average of 5.5 million viewers for the games, up 4% from a year ago.

The millennial superstars who stabilized the league for two decades are now entering their twilight: LeBron James (who turned 41 on Tuesday), Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Chris Paul. In their wake comes something genuinely new. For the first time, the league's next dominant generation is unmistakably international. The NBA's gen Z elite now emerge from Slovenia, Serbia, Greece, Canada and France.

Edgecombe, the 6-foot-4 guard out of Baylor, connected on a 25-foot jumper with 1.7 seconds left, capping a 25-point night, and giving Philadelphia a 139-136 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night.

The NBA is never boring -- and this season is no different. There have been surprising starts, both in good (we see you, Pistons) and bad (unfortunately, we see you, too, Clippers) ways. There have been scandals (yes, plural) that have cast a shadow over multiple franchises. There has been one ignominious ending ( maybe) for an all-time great in Chris Paul, and we could potentially be seeing the last season of LeBron James, arguably the greatest player in the history of the sport.

The NBA on Sunday suspended New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado two games and Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams one game for their roles in an on-court fight Saturday night that saw them both ejected. The incident occurred with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter of the Suns' 123-114 win at Smoothie King Center, when Alvarado pushed Williams out of the way while playing defense and was called for a foul. Williams then shoved Alvarado in the back.

Alvarado, an aggressive defender, was trying to fight through a ball screen set by Williams to keep pressure on Suns sharpshooter Collin Gillespie, who had made his first five 3-point attempts of the game. Alvarado pushed Williams out of the way while playing defense and was called for a foul. Williams then shoved Alvarado in the back. Alvarado turned toward Williams and the two exchanged words before grabbing each other and throwing punches. Both players landed right hands before being separated and then ejected.

Larsson had missed six games in a row after suffering an ankle sprain in the NBA Cup quarterfinal against the Orlando Magic. He returned to action Friday, and his play provided a huge spark that this team has been desperately searching for. He finished with a career-high 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists on an efficient 9 of 13 shooting.

Lakers guard Austin Reaves will miss at least a month with a grade 2 strain in his left calf, the team announced Friday, one day after he left the game against the Houston Rockets at halftime. Reaves, averaging career highs in points (26.6), assists (6.3) and rebounds (5.2), had already missed three games with what the team called a "mild" calf strain.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Anthony Edwards scored 38 points to help the Minnesota Timberwolves beat former teammate Karl-Anthony Towns for the first time and hold off the New York Knicks 115-104 on Tuesday night. Julius Randle had 17 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and Rudy Gobert contributed 11 points, 16 rebounds and his reliably fierce rim protection for the Wolves (20-10), who have won 10 of 12.

The NBA basketball season is a long slog and requires elite levels of concentration, fitness, and willpower. With 82 matches for each team in the regular season, there are bound to be peaks and troughs throughout the seven-month regular season as teams attempt to make the playoffs, or even better, win their conference.

The NBA is attempting to reduce the value of inside information and combat performance manipulation as it reacts to the federal indictments of a current player, a head coach and former player in gambling cases, according to a memo sent to all teams Friday. The league is considering potential policy changes to address tanking, increase the frequency of injury reporting and restrict what sportsbooks offer, according to the memo.

Everything - from body mechanics to each individual action in a game - are data points. Tracked, put together, analyzed, and spat out. Outcomes closing towards preordained. Yet, something is always missing. On paper, as they say, it should fit. It should work out. The numbers say it so. But, like a meddlesome ghost, something keeps it from all coming together.