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2017 NBA Mexico City Games schedule info

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Zignia Live announced today that NBA Mexico City Games 2017 will feature the Brooklyn Nets playing regular-season games against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, Dec. 7, and the Miami Heat on Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico.

The games will mark the first time the NBA has hosted four regular-season contests in Mexico in the same calendar year. Last January, the Phoenix Suns took on the Dallas Mavericks (Jan. 12) and the San Antonio Spurs (Jan. 14) in Mexico City.

The games will be broadcast live by ESPN and Televisa in Mexico and will be available to fans around the world on the NBA App. Fans now have the chance to pre-register to be the first to know about ticket sales and receive exclusive offers via www.nbamex.com/MXGames2017.

NBA Mexico City Games 2017 culminates the 25th anniversary celebration of the first NBA game in Mexico and marks the 25th and 26th games in Mexico since 1992, the most NBA games held in any country outside the United States and Canada.

The Nets’ roster currently features 2015 No. 2 overall draft pick D’Angelo Russell and Jeremy Lin. The Heat’s roster currently features 2014 All-NBA Third Team member Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside, who led the NBA in rebounding last season. The Thunder is led by 2016-17 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Russell Westbrook and four-time NBA All-Star Paul George.

Anthony Randolph re-signs in Spain

Here’s Eurocupbasketball.com reporting the latest on former NBA power forward Anthony Randolph, who continues to play pro bball in Spain:

Real Madrid reached a new agreement with forward Anthony Randolph to keep working together next season, the club announced Thursday. Randolph (2.11 meters, 27 years old) averaged 10.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 34 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games last season, helping Madrid reach the Final Four. He also lifted the Spanish Copa del Rey trophy with Madrid last season, his first with his current team. Randolph was named to the 2015-16 All-EuroLeague Second Team after posting 14.5 points and 6 rebounds over 23 games for Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar that season, helping it reach the Final Four.

Pablo Prigioni now a head coach in Spain

Here’s Euroleaguebasketball.net with an update on former NBA guard Pablo Prigioni:

Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz has turned to one of the great players in club history to guide the team as head coach with the hiring of Pablo Prigioni on Friday. The sides agreed to a two-year contract. Prigioni, 40, played briefly for Baskonia last season before announcing his retirement in January. In all he played parts of eight seasons for Baskonia and retired ranked fifth in assists in the EuroLeague’s all-time list (804) and is third in steals (322). This will be his first time coaching.

Prigioni started his playing career with Obras Sanitarias in his native Argentina and played for two Spanish clubs, Fuenlabrada and Lucentum Alicante, before joining Baskonia in 2003.

LeBron James will not play 3-on-3 basketball in Olympics

The 2020 Olympics in Japan will include 3-on-3 basketball as an event, but unless LeBron James has a big change of heart, don’t expect him to participate.

“I’m not very good in a three-on-three thing, I’m more of a five-on-five guy,” said James to the media, according to ESPN.com. “I stay out of the one-on-one matchups during our practice, the two-on-twos and the three-on-threes. So probably not. I probably won’t be a part of the three-on-three matchup that it has to offer.”

“I think it’s great for basketball,” said James, per ESPN. “For us to be able to add another category to the Olympics, another basketball category, I think it’s pretty great. I haven’t seen the full layout of how they plan on executing it; and are they going to use NBA guys or are going to use college guys?”

It’ll be interesting to see what caliber of players do represent the USA in 3-on-3. Right now, it’s anyone’s guess. It’s quite possible NBA players won’t be involved.

Skal Labissiere will host basketball camp in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Sacramento Kings rookie Skal Labissière announced today that his first Camp S.K.A.L. basketball clinic will tip off this summer in his native Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Representing skills, knowledge and life, Labissière’s Camp S.K.A.L. will host 50 of the top high school basketball players and coaches in Port-au-Prince July 19-21.

“This will be my first time back home in seven years,” Labissière said. “I’m blessed to be in a place now where I can give back to my Port-au-Prince community and this is just the start of more free Camp S.K.A.L. events there in the future. I look forward to sharing some of the basketball and life knowledge I’ve gained over the years.”

Labissière partnered with Reach Your Dream, a non-profit organization promoting spiritual awareness, self confidence, and innovative thinking for future generations in communities throughout the world. Reach Your Dream helped Labissière relocate to the United States before high school to pursue his educational and basketball goals.

“Without the good people of Reach Your Dream, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” added Labissière. “It’s only fitting, that we work together on Camp S.K.A.L. to provide similar opportunities to the future basketball stars of Haiti.”

Dirk Nowitzki, basketball legend

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki begins the week on the verge of a major milestone.

The 13-time NBA All-Star from Germany needs 67 points to reach 30,000 for his career, a mark achieved by only the five players ahead of him on the league’s all-time scoring list: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.

Nowitzki, the NBA’s active scoring leader and the highest-scoring player born outside the United States, is set to join Malone and Bryant as the only players to score 30,000 points with one franchise. The 38-year-old Nowitzki has spent his entire 19-year career with the Mavericks; the only player in NBA history with a longer tenure with one team is Bryant, who played 20 seasons with the Lakers.

Dallas plays six of its next seven games at home, beginning tonight against Miami at American Airlines Center. Nowitzki is averaging 18.1 points over his last seven games, putting his season average at 13.8 points.

— Via NBA Newsletter

Jimmer Fredette scores 73 points in China

Much like Stephon Marbury, Jimmer Fredette is finding success in China.

Fredette, the former Knick and Glenn Falls, N.Y., native, scored 73 points in a Chinese Basketball Association game Sunday. Fredette’s Shanghai Sharks lost in double overtime to the Guangsha Lions. He shot 25 of 49 from the field.

The offensive outburst is the fourth-highest point total in CBA history. Errick McCollum (82), Quincy Douby (75) and Bobby Brown (74) are the only players to score more than Fredette in a game.

— NY Daily News

NBL Australia hopes to play vs NBA teams in preseason

NBL boss Larry Kestelman will fly to the United States next month to ramp up discussions with NBA officials about Australian teams playing pre-season games in the US.

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, Kestelman confirmed his ambitious proposal for the NBL to take on the NBA’s best was well advanced.

His goal is for teams like Sydney and Melbourne to play pre-season matches against some of the NBA’s biggest franchises.

“We are having dialogue with the NBA and I won’t rest until we see the Sydney Kings playing the Warriors or the Chicago Bulls,” Kestelman said.

— Daily Telegraph

Thunder lose preseason game to Real Madrid

It’s just preseason. The law states that needed to be the first sentence here. Because, it’s true. It’s just preseason, and often in preseason the best players on an NBA team play very limited minutes. It’s just a warmup. But when an NBA team plays an international team, preseason or not, the international team takes it seriously. And then anything can happen. Here’s the Oklahoman reporting:

Game on the line.

Russell Westbrook on the bench.

It’ll be a regular-season rarity for the Thunder, and should the situation arise in a game that counts, Oklahoma City will hope to handle it better than it did in Monday’s preseason debut.

With Westbrook watching — he played only the first and third quarters — multiple Thunder players tried to fill the go-to role down the stretch of Monday’s 142-137 overtime loss to Real Madrid…

Real Madrid made 20 of 37 3-pointers — many of them clean looks as a result of sloppy defensive rotations — in rallying from 22 points down for an upset win…

Victor Oladipo scored 34 points. Enes Kanter added 29 points and 10 rebounds.

Pregame notes for Rockets vs Sharks

Rockets team notes for game vs Shanghai Sharks tonight:

· This game marks the first time a professional team from China is facing an NBA team in the United States… the Sharks play in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

Connections:

· The Sharks are owned by former Rocket Yao Ming… on Feb. 2, 2016, Yao will become just the sixth player in Rockets history to have his number retired.

· Rockets guard Bobby Brown spent the past two years playing in the CBA… last season, he was with the Shenzhen Leopards and averaged 29.2 points, 6.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds.

· Sharks center Wu Guanxi was a member of the Rockets entry in the 2016 Samsung NBA Summer League… Rockets Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, K.J. McDaniels, Chinanu Onuaku, Gary Payton II, Isaiah Taylor and Kyle Wiltjer all played on that team.

· Sharks guard Jimmer Fredette played five seasons in the NBA and was teammates with Rockets forward Ryan Anderson and guard Eric Gordon in New Orleans for the 2014-15 season.

Injury/Status Report:

· The Rockets have no injuries to report.

Rockets News & Notes:

· This marks the 50th season in Rockets franchise history… the San Diego Rockets were established as an expansion team for the 1967-68 season and moved to Houston prior to the 1971-72 season.

· Houston is one of three teams (Dallas and San Antonio) to have gone .500 or better in each of the past 10 seasons… the Rockets have also made the playoffs in four straight seasons, which is tied for the third-longest streak in franchise history.

· Since joining the Rockets in 2012-13, James Harden has scored 533 more points than any other player in the league… he also has made 461 more free throws than any other player has attempted over that span.

· In 27 games played post All-Star break last season, Patrick Beverley averaged 11.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists after averaging 8.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 2.8 apg his first 44 games played.