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NBA Power Rankings: DeMar DeRozan’s historic streak powers Bulls; Suns remain No. 1 entering All-Star break

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1


Suns
The Suns won four more games this week, none more impressive than their drubbing of the Bucks in a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals. It’s rare to see the Suns in the loss column these days, as they’ve now won 20 of their last 22 games and haven’t dropped two in a row since December. Devin Booker cooled off this week, but still averaged 23.3 points per game, while Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, Chris Paul and Cam Johnson all averaged double figures. Phoenix goes into the All-Star break as the undisputed best team in the NBA. — 48-10
2


Grizzlies
Memphis saw its winning streak hit six games after victories over the Pistons, Hornets and Pelicans, but it dropped a home game to the suddenly red-hot Blazers on Wednesday to put an end to that. Still, the Grizzlies made up some ground on the struggling Warriors, and are now just a game and a half out of the No. 2 spot in the West heading into the All-Star break. Ja Morant tied a career high with 44 points in the loss to Portland, while Brandon Clarke has played well of late, averaging 15 points and 8.3 rebounds in 25 minutes per game this week. — 41-19
3


Bulls
The Bulls didn’t face the world’s most difficult schedule this week, but they also won three of their four games without Zach LaVine. Meanwhile, DeMar DeRozan is out here breaking records set by Wilt Chamberlain. No, really. DeRozan became the first player in NBA history to score at least 35 points while shooting at least 50 percent from the field in seven consecutive games. The Bulls needed every one of them too, so it’s not like he was racking up points in garbage time. A phenomenal season from DeRozan just keeps getting better. 8 38-21
4


Heat
Wins over the Pelicans and Nets brought the Heat’s winning streak to five games before a loss to the Mavericks on Tuesday. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo combined to average over 46 points and 20 rebounds per game this week, while Kyle Lowry added 13.3 points, seven assists and six rebounds on 50 percent 3-point shooting. Those three and Omer Yurtseven were the only players to score more than six points in a poor offensive effort against Dallas. 1 38-21
5


Mavericks
The Mavs produced one of the more shocking moments of the trade deadline when they traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Wizards, and they followed that up by splitting with the Clippers and picking up a strong road win over the Heat. Luka Doncic went absolutely berserk against the Clippers, scoring a career-high 51 points in the win and 45 in the loss. Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans both made their Mavs debuts against Miami, with Bertans going 3 for 7 from 3-point range in 13 minutes. 2 35-24
6


Celtics
The Celtics were cruising their way up the Power Rankings with wins over the Nuggets, Hawks and 76ers to start the week, then they hit a massive speed bump in the form of a one-point loss to the lowly Pistons on Wednesday. These things happen, however, and Boston has still won 11 of its last 13 games. New addition Derrick White has fit in seamlessly, averaging 12.3 points, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals this week. 4 34-26
7


Warriors
Steve Kerr wanted to go into the All-Star break on a high note — instead they enter in the most gut-wrenching way possible, losing at home on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Nuggets guard Monte Morris after losing an eight-point lead over the final three minutes of the game. That’s four losses in five games for Golden State, which has missed Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala while allowing 118 points per 100 possessions over that stretch. Steph Curry averaged 29.3 points and 6.5 assists for the week, while making 34 percent of his 3-pointers. 4 42-17
8


76ers
The new era of Philly basketball will have to be put on hold for the time being, as James Harden won’t make his debut until after the All-Star break. In the meantime, the Sixers beat the Thunder and Cavs to start the week before an eye-popping 48-point home loss to the Celtics. Joel Embiid did the heavy lifting as usual, averaging 28 points, 14 rebounds, 6.7 assists and two blocks this week, though he shot just 39 percent from the field. — 35-23
9


Bucks
After being blown out by the Suns in a rematch of last year’s Finals to start the week, Milwaukee lost to the Blazers at home without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who returned the next night to put up 50 points and 14 rebounds in a win over the Pacers. Jrue Holiday had a strong week, averaging 19.3 points and six assists on 54 percent 3-point shooting, while Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis both struggled mightily from 3-point range, shooting a combined 5 for 32. 5 36-24
10


Nuggets
The Nuggets lost to the Celtics to start the week, but then picked up wins over the Raptors, Magic and Warriors, the latter coming on a game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Monte Morris off a dish from Nikola Jokic. Denver has now won five out of its last six games, led by 28 points, 15.8 rebounds and eight assists per game from Jokic this week. The Nuggets have been able to piece enough together on both ends to keep winning despite their significant injury issues. 2 33-25
11


Cavaliers
The Cavs beat the Pacers to start the week before dropping games to the 76ers and Hawks. The normally stout defense had a couple of slip-ups while incorporating new addition Caris LeVert into the fold. He averaged 14 points and 4.3 assists on 40 percent shooting in his first three games with Cleveland, while Darius Garland put up 28.5 points per game in the two losses, but had more turnovers than assists. 5 35-23
12


Raptors
The Raptors came down to Earth (slightly) this week, losing to the Nuggets and Pelicans, but also picked up victories over the Rockets and Wolves to make it nine wins in their last 11 games. Pascal Siakam went off for a season-high 35 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists on 16-for-22 shooting in the loss to Denver, while Gary Trent Jr. averaged 22.3 points per game this week on 37 percent 3-point shooting. 3 32-25
13


Jazz
The Jazz ran their winning streak to six games with victories over the Magic and Rockets to start the week, but they allowed a 12-point lead to disappear in less than four minutes down the stretch in Wednesday’s loss to the Lakers. Donovan Mitchell has been on a tear since coming back from a concussion, averaging 30.3 points this week on 42 percent 3-point shooting. Rudy Gobert returned to the lineup after a nine-game absence due to a calf injury, but was ejected against the Rockets and scored just five points in the loss to the Lakers. — 36-22
14


Hawks
The Hawks lost to the Spurs and Celtics to start the week, but bounced back to beat the Cavs and Magic. Trae Young averaged 27.8 points and nine assists on 44 percent 3-point shooting, while Bogdan Bogdanovic added 20.5 points per game on 47 percent 3-point shooting. Danilo Gallinari has filled in for John Collins as the starting power forward, and he put up 14.3 points per game this week while making 47 percent of his 3s. — 28-30
15


Timberwolves
The Wolves beat the Pacers and Hornets this week, while losing to the Bulls and Raptors. The defense, which has been part of their resurgence this season, was a little shaky this week against some strong offensive opponents. Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 26.3 points and 11.8 rebounds per game on 44 percent 3-point shooting, while Anthony Edwards added 20.8 points per game despite missing the entire second half in Tuesday’s win over Charlotte due to a sprained ankle. — 31-28
16


Clippers
The Clippers will be perfectly content if they never see Luka Doncic again, as the All-Star scored 51 and 45 points, respectively, in consecutive matchups this week. The Clippers were able to win one of those, however, and they followed that up with a convincing win over the Warriors before losing to the Suns. The injury bug has been particularly fond of the Clippers this season, and that continued with Norman Powell suffering a broken bone in his foot. Marcus Morris, Reggie Jackson and Terance Mann have stepped up as the key offensive contributors with Powell, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard all out. 1 30-31
17


Nets
There’s no telling when Ben Simmons will make his Brooklyn debut or when Kevin Durant will return, but at least things are finally heading in the right direction. The Nets’ losing streak reached 11 games with losses to the Wizards and Heat to start the week, but they rattled off back-to-back wins over the Kings and Knicks, both without Kyrie Irving, to build some momentum. Newly acquired Seth Curry led the team with 21.5 points and 5.5 assists per game in the two wins. 2 31-28
18


Trail Blazers
Isn’t basketball a funny thing? The Blazers go into full tank mode by trading CJ McCollum and Norman Powell, lose Nassir Little for the season with a shoulder injury, and then somehow rattle off four straight wins, including road victories over the Bucks and Grizzlies to close out the week. Go figure. Anfernee Simons looks ready to take McCollum’s place as Portland’s No. 2 scoring option when Lillard is healthy, averaging 30.3 points and 6.7 assists this week on scorching 18-for-38 3-point shooting, and Josh Hart has looked great since coming over from New Orleans, putting up 24 points per game on 52 percent 3-point shooting. 2 25-34
19


Lakers
Even when the Lakers win, they find a way to lose. After looking pretty good in a close loss to the Warriors with the weight of the trade deadline off everyone’s shoulders, the Lakers pulled out an impressive win over the Jazz on Wednesday. Unfortunately, it was impressive because it came mostly without Anthony Davis, who left the game with a nasty looking ankle sprain that could keep him out for an extended period. It’s a shame, since the Lakers have looked good in their last two games, but hopefully the All-Star break will give Davis the rest he needs to recuperate. 2 27-31
20


Wizards
The Wizards were able to pick up a couple wins this week, but also lost relatively winnable games against the Kings and Pacers. Kyle Kuzma has stepped up as the Wizards’ best player after Bradley Beal’s season-ending injury, averaging 21.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists this week on 37 percent 3-point shooting. A host of role players has stepped up as Washington awaits the debut of Kristaps Porzingis. 4 27-31
21


Spurs
It was a good week for the Spurs, who beat the Hawks, Pelicans and Thunder with their only loss coming on the road to the Bulls. All-Star Dejounte Murray was at it again, averaging 25 points, 11.5 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game this week while committing just five total turnovers in the four games. Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Lonnie Walker IV have all benefited from extra opportunity from the Spurs trading away Derrick White before the deadline. 5 23-36
22


Pelicans
The Pelicans only had one win this week, but it was a 30-point thrashing of a hot Raptors team. The New Orleans defense, which had been trending in the right direction recently, allowed over 120 points in losses to the Spurs and Grizzlies. CJ McCollum averaged 26 points, seven rebounds and 5.5 assists for the week on nearly 21 field goal attempts per game, while he continues to figure out the work-share alongside Brandon Ingram, who put up 16.3 points on 14 shots per game. 6 23-36
23


Hornets
The Charlotte offense exploded in a win over Detroit to start the week, but the Hornets followed that up with consecutive losses to the Grizzlies and Wolves, making it eight losses in their last nine games. For a team with so many weapons, the offense has been brutal during the rough stretch outside of the Pistons game, while their defense has actually been decent. Montrezl Harrell came over before the trade deadline, and has averaged 15.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in his first three games. 5 29-31
24


Knicks
The Knicks started off the week with an impressive win over the Warriors, but suffered bad losses to the Blazers, Thunder and a shell of a Nets team after leading by as many as 28 points. The Knicks became the first team in 25 years to lose three games in which they held at least a 20-point lead in the same month. Julius Randle has been producing through the Knicks’ recent struggles, putting up 29.3 points, 13.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game this week. 2 25-34
25


Kings
The Kings looked as if they might go undefeated with Domantas Sabonis after a win over the Wizards on Saturday, but things came crashing down with a 25-point beatdown at the hands of the star-less Nets, and that was followed by a loss to the Bulls on Wednesday. Sabonis averaged 15.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists for the week, while De’Aaron Fox seems to like his new teammate, putting up 28.3 points and 5.3 assists on 51 percent shooting this week. 2 22-38
26


Pacers
Things haven’t been going great for the new-look Pacers, but they were able to pick up a win over the Wizards on Wednesday to snap a seven-game losing streak. Deadline acquisition Tyrese Haliburton has looked every bit like the future franchise point guard they hope he will be, leading the team with 20.8 points and 11 assists per game this week while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. 2 20-40
27


Pistons
Detroit lost to the Grizzlies, Hornets and Wizards to start the week, then somehow managed to beat one of the hottest teams in the NBA in Wednesday’s win over the Celtics. Jerami Grant, Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey all broke the 20-point barrier in the win, with Grant hitting the go-ahead basket in the closing seconds and Isaiah Stewart coming up with a key block down the stretch. 3 13-45
28


Thunder
OKC went 1-3 this week, with its only win coming against the struggling Knicks in overtime. Rookie Josh Giddey continues to become the youngest in NBA history to do everything triple-double related, collecting three straight to close out the week against the Bulls, Knicks and Spurs. Giddey also scored a career-high 28 points in his first game at MSG in the Thunder win. He’s certainly been a bright spot in another rebuilding season for Oklahoma City. 1 18-40
29


Rockets
The Rockets lost handily to the Raptors and Jazz before nearly pulling off a shocking upset over the Suns on Wednesday without the services of Kevin Porter Jr. or Christian Wood. Eric Gordon had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but his attempt went wide left and Houston had to settle for a moral victory. Rookie Jalen Green had an efficient week, averaging 16 points on 47 percent 3-point shooting, and he’ll enter Saturday’s Slam Dunk Contest as the betting favorite. — 15-43
30


Magic
Orlando lost to four pretty good teams this week, and none of the games were particularly close. Wendell Carter Jr. led the team in scoring and rebounding over the four games, averaging a double-double of 17.8 points and 10.5 rebounds. Cole Anthony added 16.8 points per game this week on 47 percent 3-point shooting. 5 13-47



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Did Corey LaJoie help or hurt his chances for a premier ride? | Fast Thoughts with Bob Pockrass

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Fast Thoughts: Will Corey LaJoie get a premier ride after his performance at the Enjoy Illinois 300?



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León lifts trophy and celebrates 2023 CONCACAF Champions League victory

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Club León celebrated their victory against LAFC and being crowned winner of the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League.



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NBA Finals Takeaways: Undrafted players shine as Heat tie series vs. Nuggets

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Which trend would hold? The Denver Nuggets remaining undefeated at home in the playoffs or the underdog Miami Heat being the team that won’t die?

That was the question as the NBA Finals teed up Game 2 on Sunday in Denver, after the Nuggets won comfortably in Game 1.

There were plenty of other subplots: would the Heat figure out how to at least make something difficult for Nuggets star Nikola Jokic? Would Jimmy Butler return to ‘playoff Jimmy’ form? Would the Heat role players show up? Would Jamal Murray keep doing his convincing Steph Curry impression?

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Well, Miami won 111-108 as Jokic finished with 41 points on 16-of-28 shooting but was limited to just four assists as the Heat were more judicious in their double teams and took away easy passing lanes.

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Butler didn’t exactly tear it up for most of the game, but he was a willing playmaker, helping find looks for his teammates. In the fourth quarter, he looked for his own offence more as he scored eight of his 21 points down the stretch while adding nine assists.

Meanwhile, Murray looked relatively ordinary as the Canadian’s streak of 25 points or more in the post-season ended at six games as he finished with 18 points and 10 assists. He did hit big three as part of the Nuggets’ 11-2 run late in the fourth that helped Denver turn a 12-point Miami lead to a one-possession game, but Murray missed a long three on the final possession that would have sent the game into overtime.

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The Nuggets take the series to Miami for Game 3 on Wednesday after losing at home for the first time in 10 playoff starts, the series evened at 1-1.

Some takeaways.

Would Playoff Jimmy please stand up? 

Butler has alternately looked like the best player in the world during these playoffs — he averaged 37.6 points a game in Miami’s five-game upset of the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks in the first round — and just a guy.

A pretty good guy, but a long way from the second coming of Kobe Bryant.

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Heading into Game 2, Butler – who scored just 13 points on 14 shots in the opener – was averaging just 20.7 points on 39-per-cent shooting over his previous six starts this post-season.

Not surprisingly, the Heat were just 2-4 over that stretch.

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There were no signs Butler was going to change course in the early going. On possession after possession, the Nuggets would funnel Butler to the baseline, content to take their chances with him dribbling through the paint without even looking at the rim.

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Normally it’s a compliment to say a player of Butler’s calibre wasn’t forcing anything, but not in this case as the Heat likely would have been happy to their star try to put his imprint on the game. Instead, when Butler hit traffic he’d make a harmless pass to the corner, the Nuggets would rotate and not much would happen.

It wasn’t like Butler was a non-factor: he finished the first half with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting to go along with four assists, but in my view the Heat need Butler to be creating offense for himself if they’re going to keep up with the Nuggets juggernaut.

In the third quarter with the game separated by a three-point field goal, Butler got out on a break but fumbled the ball away when chased down by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. It’s just one play but not one that Butler would have made a month ago.

But Butler began to heat up in the fourth as a three and a three-point play gave the Heat a six-point lead that they stretched to 12. The Heat hung on from there.

The great undrafted

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The collection of undrafted role players the Heat have come to rely on to round out their lineup in support of Butler and Bam Adebayo came to play.

Miami jumped out to a 10-2 lead as Max Strus – 0-of-10  from three in Game 1 – hit a pair of quick triples early, taking advantage of some lax Nuggets defence.

Meanwhile, Gabe Vincent hit a pair of jumpers and showed why he’s been the right choice by Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra to supplant Kyle Lowry as a starter.

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As the Nuggets chipped into Miami’s lead and then threatened to run away with things in the second quarter, it was Vincent who kept the Heat in touch after Denver cut the lead to three by the end of the first quarter and pushed in front by double figures in the second.  Vincent hit a big three that kept the Nuggets’ lead at 10 and then a steal and three-point play helped the Heat come back from down 15.

Vincent wasn’t the only Heat role player to find a way to contribute early. Lowry hit a three as did Kevin Love, who started for an ill Caleb Martin.

Strus finished the first half with 14 points and Vincent 12. But the Heat still trailed at half, 57-51.

They didn’t stop there. It was Vincent’s fourth three that gave Miami its first lead in the fourth quarter and by that time Duncan Robinson – another member of the Heat’s undrafted brigade – was making plays too, nailing threes and driving to the rim as well for 10 points in a quick burst. 

A Martin triple – his first field goal of the game – with just under four minutes left gave Miami a 12-point lead. In all, 50 of Miami’s points came from undrafted players.

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Rocky Mountain Monsters

Jokic and Murray are at their best when playing together and working in concert to create scoring opportunities seemingly at will. Their cat-and-mouse, two-man game is likely the best in the NBA, with Murray doing a reasonable impression of Steph Curry and Jokic playing the role of Draymond Green if the Golden State Warriors centre could shoot better than 40 per cent from three and score 30 points a game at will.

Heading into the series, ESPN.com reported that Murray and Jokic had created 24.5 points per game directly from handoffs and on-ball screens when working in tandem, more than any other duo in the past five years. But each player can lift the team alone, too.

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In the first quarter, it was Jokic turning up the offence as the rest of his teammates were slow to get into the game and it seemed like Miami might put the Nuggets in a deep hole early. He was 5-of-9 in the first quarter – Jokic took just one shot in the first quarter of Game 1 – while the rest of the Nuggets were 5-of-12 and Murray was 0-of-3.

But with Jokic on the bench in the second quarter, Murray began to heat up. In a two-minute stretch early in the second quarter, Murray hit a triple in transition, made a steal and scored a three-point play when he was fouled at the rim on his dunk and then hit an impossible fadeaway jumper over Adebayo at the end of the shot clock to put Denver up 12.

Not a lot of teams even have one player that can reliably raise their game in the post-season. Denver – in a sense – has three: Jokic and Murray together and then each of them on their own.

Murray’s playoff scoring average is 8.5 points more per game than his regular season average, the most of any player with at least 20 post-season games played, per ESPN.com. Second on that list is Jokic, who averages 7.1 points more per game in the playoffs than the regular season.

But give credit to Heat for adjusting. They stayed home on Denver’s shooters, taking away much of Jokic’s playmaking options and turning him into a scorer. By playing so much zone, a lot of Murray and Jokic’s two-man game was minimized — reflected by Murray’s reduced scoring and Jokic’s limited playmaking opportunities.

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Random Jokic appreciation

There are almost no words to fully capture how good Jokic is at basketball. Whether he’s the best in the game now (I think so) or will end up one of the best of all time (he’s already on his way) is almost pointless to debate.

But what’s not an argument is how fun he is to watch figure out plays on the fly. In various sequences in the third quarter, he backed down Heat centre Adebayo – a perennial all-defence candidate – eventually winning a protracted, twisty, physical game of one-on-one with a delicate floater at the rim.

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A moment later, he surveyed the floor and calmly drained a triple and why not?  He’s shooting 47 per cent from three in the playoffs.

Adebayo then said ‘not again’ and fouled Jokic on an overly aggressive close-out, sending him to the line for three points.

Then Jokic picked up a loose ball just over half, winning a race for it against Vincent, and won another twisty, turny game of one-on-one against a point guard in space, finishing with another floater.

His most prominent skill is passing, but Jokic’s real genius is he can beat you (on offence, at any rate) any way he decides he needs to. He scored in the post with fundamental jump hooks, he scored ambling up the floor going end-to-end as the world’s biggest, slowest, best point guard.

He scored 18 points in the third quarter as Denver started the fourth leading 83-75 and it was a joy to watch.

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And some love for Lowry

The former Toronto Raptors star isn’t worth the $28 million the Heat are paying him this season or the $29 million his contract calls for next season, a big reason why it’s widely expected that the Heat will try to use his contract in a blockbuster trade – possibly including Tyler Herro – to add another star this off-season.

But it’s not like Lowry can’t play. He still can make plays that only someone with his combination of hustle and IQ would even think about: plowing into a crowd of Nuggets on a missed free throw to get his hands on the ball, allowing the Heat to score a much-needed three, or an expert pocket pass to Adebayo for a lay-up, or some clutch threes.

Lowry finished with nine points, added three assists and was on the floor and +11 in the fourth quarter.

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