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Jazz sign Luka Samanic to 10-day contract

The Utah Jazz have signed forward Luka Šamanić to a 10-day contract.

Šamanić (6-10, 227, Croatia) joins the Jazz having most recently played for the Maine Celtics of the NBA G League, where he appeared in 27 games (all starts), averaging 22.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 29.4 minutes per contest. The 23-year-old has two years of NBA experience with the San Antonio Spurs (2019-21), where he appeared in 36 games (five starts), averaging 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per contest.

Drafted in the first round (19th overall pick) of the 2019 NBA Draft by San Antonio, Šamanić has additional professional experience with Union Olimpija of the Adriatic League (2018-19) and the FC Barcelona II and FC Barcelona U18 squads from 2016-18.

Nets sign Moses Brown to second 10-day contract

The Brooklyn Nets have signed center Moses Brown to a second 10-day contract.

Brown (7’2″, 245) signed his first 10-day contract with the Nets on March 17 and played four minutes in his lone appearance on March 26 at Orlando. Prior to joining Brooklyn, the fourth-year pro previously played for Portland, Oklahoma City, Cleveland, Dallas and the Los Angeles Clippers. In 127 career games (39 starts), Brown holds averages of 5.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per contest on 57.1 percent shooting from the field. The 23-year-old has also played in 50 career games (19 starts) across four seasons in the NBA G League, including five total games (four starts) this season for the Ontario Clippers and Westchester Knicks. Brown holds career NBA G League averages of 15.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 22.0 minutes per game.

A Queens, N.Y., native, Brown attended Archbishop Molloy High School and became the first player from the school to be named a McDonald’s All-American since Kenny Anderson in 1989. He played one collegiate season (2018-19) at UCLA, where he was named a PAC-12 All-Defensive Team honorable mention and a semifinalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. Brown went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft and later signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Brandon Ingram named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week

New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram has been named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for games played March 20-26.

Ingram led New Orleans to a 3-0 week, recording averages of 31.3 points, 10.0 assists, and 6.3 rebounds in 33.0 minutes per game, while shooting .525 from the field, .462 from deep, and 1.000 from the foul stripe. Among Western Conference players with winning records on the week, Ingram ranked first in points and assists per contest.

Jaylen Brown named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week

Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has been named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week, the NBA announced today. Brown earns his third career nod and this award marks the 67th overall honor for a Celtics player in franchise history. Brown joins Derrick White (2/12) and Jayson Tatum (10/23) as the third player to receive the recognition this season. The last team to have three players earn a weekly honor in a single season was Toronto (2019-20).

Brown led the Celtics to a 3-0 week with wins over San Antonio (137-93), Indiana (120-95), and Sacramento (132-109), while averaging 31.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 34.6 minutes per game. Brown was the only player in the Eastern Conference to average at least 30 points while shooting better than 55.0 percent from the field and 39.0 percent from three-point range.

Cavs clinch spot in 2023 NBA playoffs

Via Cleveland.com:

Where were you in 1998?

That year has become rooted in Cavs history — an inescapable smudge that no one could erase. It was the last time the organization made the playoffs without LeBron James — the multi-time franchise savior whose presence single-handedly controlled the team’s destiny. With him, Cleveland was a pillar of stability and prosperity. Without him, rubble.

Until Sunday night.

The Cavs crushed Houston, 108-91, ending a five-year playoff drought and clinching a berth without LeBron for the first time in more than two decades. It’s their fourth straight win and sixth in the last seven games. The victory also pulls the Cavs closer to third-seeded Philadelphia who had an abundance of breathing room a few days ago.

“You want to appreciate every step along the way and it’s definitely a blessing,” All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell said. “I don’t want to downplay the moment. But in the same token, and I told the guys in there, this is what you come to expect. You made your first one, appreciate it, enjoy it, celebrate it for the city, for the organization, for your individual guys who have made it, but at the same token like, three seed is in play. That’s the goal. That’s the focus. We should come to a point now where that’s what is expected of us — making the playoffs and continuously pushing forward.”

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LeBron James returns, but Lakers lose to Bulls

LeBron James made his return to action today, but the results for the Lakers weren’t good. Via the LA Times:

Yet Sunday, the surprise return, in part, translated into a turnover-riddled mess with no real purpose in a 118-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

Players inside the Lakers’ locker room didn’t find out James would be back until after his pregame workout Sunday, the type of addition that does so much good long term while throwing the short term into a bit of chaos.

He came off the bench for just the second time in his career, joining the Lakers for their final eight games of the season.

In his return, James scored 19 points. Troy Brown Jr. and Malik Beasley each had 18, while Dennis Schroder contributed 17 and Austin Reaves 13.

Anthony Davis scored 15 points and shot six for eight from the field — Beasley, Brown, James, Reaves and Schroder all attempting more shots.

The Lakers turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 34 Chicago points.

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Knicks sign DaQuan Jeffries

The New York Knicks have signed guard DaQuan Jeffries to a contract.

Jeffries, 6-5, 222-pounds, averaged 21.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists over 33.3 minutes in 21 games (all starts) for the Westchester Knicks. In 15 games (all starts) during the 2022 AT&T Winter Showcase, he averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists over 32.9 minutes. New York signed him to a 10-day contract on Mar. 5 and then to a second 10-day contract on Mar. 16.

The Edmond, OK-native holds career averages of 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds over 13.7 minutes in 47 games (five starts) over three seasons with Sacramento, Houston and Memphis. He appeared in five games for New York’s Summer League entry in July, averaging 8.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists over 21.7 minutes in five games in Las Vegas, NV.

Jalen Brunson says he loved his time with Mavericks

Via the NY Post:

Fans of the struggling Mavericks may not want to hear it, but Jalen Brunson says he had hoped to stay in Dallas.

The Knicks star point guard spoke highly of his former team — which he opted to leave in free agency last summer — in an interview with Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, despite opting to leave Dallas for the Big Apple during free agency last year.

“I wanted that role of being with the Mavericks for the long haul of my career. I truly loved that place,” Brunson told Haynes. “I can’t say anything bad about Dallas, but obviously I wish things would’ve happened differently.”

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In big-time NBA battle, Nuggets beat Bucks

Via the Denver Post:

Age is just a number like Jeff Green is just a basketball player.

When the 36-year-old launched himself into thin air on Saturday, soaring over and above Giannis Antetokounmpo for a gravity-defying jam, there was no telling what city he’d land in.

“Oh, man,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “That was impressive.”

On the strength of Green’s hops, Nikola Jokic’s brilliance, Jamal Murray’s marksmanship, and a tenacious defensive effort that stymied Antetokounmpo in the second half, the Nuggets throttled the Bucks, 129-106, on Saturday evening.

For a team stuck in neutral, eagerly awaiting the start of the postseason yet with a few meaningful games still left, it was an emphatic statement of how dangerous the Nuggets can be when they commit defensively. Milwaukee scored 40 points in the second half, and the Nuggets outrebounded their opponent, 48-40.

“That is big-time defense against a very good offensive team,” Malone said.

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In tight Western conference race, Clippers fall to Pelicans

Via the Los Angeles Times:

The Clippers need a strong regular-season finale if they want to avoid the play-in tournament or keep home-court advantage for a first-round series.

With beginnings like the one on Saturday, that will be more challenging to accomplish.

The Clippers were defeated by the New Orleans Pelicans in the opening five minutes of the first quarter by a score of nine.

An 11-point hole had widened to a 19-point margin two minutes into the second quarter.

The third quarter had hardly begun when their 12-point deficit had grown to 18.

The Clippers would eventually lose 131-110, and the second half’s focus shifted to what was happening off the court because the suspense had all but been taken out of the game. Four minutes remained in the third quarter when Clippers star Kawhi Leonard was elbowed in the face by Pelicans wing Brandon Ingram. Team executives promptly got up from their seats to pursue Him down the arena tunnel.

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