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Via ESPN.com:
After a full year of rehabilitating an ACL tear in his left knee, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio is targeting a return against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, sources told ESPN.
Rubio will practice Wednesday, and if all goes well, he will play in Portland on Thursday, the sources said.
The Cavaliers — 26-16 and fifth in the Eastern Conference — are anxious to make Rubio a part of the team’s guard rotation with All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.
The Atlanta Hawks have signed 12-year NBA veteran center Derrick Favors to a 10-day contract.
In 12 NBA seasons, Favors has seen action in 790 career games (503 starts), owning averages of 10.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.19 blocks in 24.3 minutes (.534 FG%, .663 FT%). He is one of only 12 active players with over 8,000 total points (8,354), 5,500 rebounds (5,608), 900 blocks (938) and 500 steals (577). Among active players, Favors ranks 17th in offensive rebounds (1,933), as well as 18th in field goal percentage (.534%) and blocks (938). Throughout his career, the newest Hawk has played for New Jersey (2010-11), Utah (2010-19, 2020-21), New Orleans (2019-20) and Oklahoma City (2021-22).
Selected by the New Jersey Nets with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Favors was traded to the Utah Jazz on Feb. 23, 2011. During his rookie season, the 6-9 center led all rookies in blocks per game (0.87), while ranking fifth among NBA rookies in rebounds per game (5.3) and eighth in scoring (6.8), en route to a 2010-11 NBA All-Rookie Second Team Selection. During the 2015-16 campaign, Favors averaged a career-best 16.4 points, in addition to 8.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.19 steals and 1.47 blocks (.515 FG%). He was one of only five players during the 2015-16 season to average at least 16.0 points, 8.0 boards, 1.0 steal and 1.0 block, while shooting .500% from the field. On Nov. 12, 2015, at Miami, Favors posted 25 points, 12 rebounds, seven blocks, three steals and two assists. No player in the NBA has put together those minimums in a single game since Favors did so that night.
In total, Favors suited up for the Jazz for 10 seasons, recording 11.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.3 blocks in 644 games (413 starts) (.530 FG%, .670 FT%). He appeared in 42 playoff contests (14 starts) across five postseason runs with Utah, tallying 7.8 points, 5.7 boards and 1.0 block in 20.8 minutes (.587 FG%). Favors currently ranks fourth all-time in Utah history in total rebounds (4,626) and field goal percentage (.530 FG%), seventh in made field goals (2,976) and blocks (840), and eighth in games played (644).
Prior to returning to Utah in 2020-21, Favors saw action in 51 games (49 starts) for the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2019-20 campaign. He notched a streak of 22 consecutive made field goals from Jan. 16-23, marking the longest such streak in the NBA in the last 20 years. He most recently appeared in 39 games (18 starts) for Oklahoma City during the 2021-22 season, averaging 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in 16.7 minutes (.516 FG%, .640 FT%).
The Atlanta, Ga., native spent one season at Georgia Tech (2009-10), appearing in 36 games (35 starts), recording 12.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 27.5 minutes (.611 FG%, .629 FT%). Favors was named ACC Rookie of the Year after leading all ACC freshmen in scoring, rebounding, double-doubles, blocked shots and field goal percentage.
A graduate of South Atlanta High School, Favors will wear No. 33.
In NBA national TV news, on Thursday, January 26, TNT will now televise the Knicks at Celtics game, and have dropped the Bulls at Hornets.
The Celtics at 29-12 have the best record in the NBA, while the Knicks at 22-19 currently sit a respectable 7th in the Eastern conference.
The Bulls (19-22) are currently 10th in the East, while the Hornets (11-31) are just 14th.
Via the South Florida Sun Sentinel:
Tuesday night’s 112-111 victory over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder just about summed up the Miami Heat’s season.
There were the requisite injury absences, in this case going without Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry, among others.
There was a moment of the unfathomable, in this case backup center Dewayne Dedmon ejected in the second period for whacking a training device onto the court as he stormed to the locker room after a confrontation with the coaching staff.
And there was tight, compelling competition to the finish, the game decided on a Jimmy Butler 3-point play with 12.9 seconds to play, on a night the Heat closed 40 of 40 from the foul line — an NBA record for conversions without a miss.
Toronto Raptors forward Otto Porter Jr. has undergone season-ending surgery on his left foot.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Robert Anderson at Bellin Health Titletown Sports Medicine and Orthopedics in Green Bay, WI.
“This was a tough decision for Otto, he had hoped to avoid surgery, but ultimately a decision had to be made to ensure his long-term health.” Raptors General Manager Bobby Webster said. “We look forward to his healthy recovery.”
Porter averaged 5.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 18.3 minutes in eight games this season. He signed with the Raptors in July 2022 as a free agent.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has been named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Jan. 2 to Jan. 8, it was announced today.
James averaged 35.0 points (.548 FG%), 8.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists in three games as the Lakers finished the week 4-0 with victories over Charlotte, Miami, Atlanta and Sacramento.
To start the week, James recorded 43 points (16-26 FG), 11 rebounds, six assists and one steal in a win at the Hornets on Jan. 2, good for his second 40-point game of the season. James joined Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to record consecutive 40-point games at age 35 or older.
In a home win over the Hawks on Jan. 6, the 38-year-old recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 25 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists. James then recorded 37 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and one steal in a 136-134 road victory over the Kings on Jan. 7, extending the Lakers’ current winning streak to five consecutive victories. The performance marked James’ 13th consecutive game with at least 25 points, good for the fourth-longest streak of his career.
In 31 games (all starts) for the Lakers this season, James is averaging 29.1 points (.510 FG%), 8.2 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.0 steals in 35.9 minutes. James has scored in double figures in all 31 games this season, extending his NBA-record double-digit scoring streak to 1,127 consecutive games.
The 18-time NBA All-Star owns a league-record 66 career weekly awards, including five weekly honors with Los Angeles. This marks his first weekly award since Dec. 13 of 2021.
The NBA announced today that Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Week 12 (games played Monday, January 2, through Sunday, January 8).
This marks Mitchell’s second player of the week honor this season, winning the award in Week 9 (games played from Dec. 12-18), and is his fifth of his NBA career (once in 2021-22 and twice in 2018-19). His honor also marks the 66th time a Cavalier has ever won the weekly award, as he becomes the first Cavalier to win player of the week multiple times in a single season since LeBron James in 2017-18.
The Cavaliers went a perfect 3-0 in games Mitchell appeared in this past week. The sixth-year NBA guard averaged an Eastern Conference-best 37.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.0 steal in 38.7 minutes. He also shot .530 from the field and .861 from the foul line, while scoring at least 20 points in all three games. In addition to leading the conference in points per game, Mitchell ranked sixth in assists per game and was the only player in the East to average at least 30.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists.
Mitchell started the week with one of the highest scoring games in NBA history, registering a franchise-record 71 points (22-34 FG, 7-15 3FG, 20-25 FT), 11 assists, eight rebounds and one block in 50 minutes during a 145-134 overtime win over Chicago on Jan. 2. It marked the most points scored by any NBA player since Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game against Toronto on Jan. 22, 2006. Mitchell also became just the seventh player in NBA history to record 70 points or more in a game, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Bryant, David Thompson, David Robinson, Elgin Baylor and Devin Booker. No other NBA player in league history accomplished a 70-point, 10-assist effort until Mitchell’s performance. With 24 points in the third quarter, 18 in the fourth and 13 in overtime, Mitchell combined to score 55 points after halftime, tying Bryant for the most points by any NBA player after intermission in the last 25 seasons, and helping the Cavaliers overcome a 21-point deficit. His 71 points shattered the franchise’s single game scoring record, beating the previous mark of 57 by LeBron James (11/3/17 at WAS) and Kyrie Irving (3/12/15 vs. SAS). The 99 points Mitchell scored or assisted on were the second-most ever behind the night Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points on March 2, 1962 (104 points created). Additionally, Mitchell became only the fourth NBA player to make 20 field goals and 20 free throws in a single game, along with Chamberlain (March 2, 1962), Booker (March 24, 2017) and Michael Jordan (March 28, 1990).
Mitchell followed his historical 71-point outing with a near double-double of 20 points, nine assists and six rebounds during Cleveland’s 90-88 victory over Phoenix on Jan. 4. He closed out the week by tallying 22 points (7-12 FG, 6-6 FT), one steal and one block in 30 minutes of a 112-98 win at Phoenix on Jan. 8. Through his 36 appearances this season (all starts) with Cleveland, the 6-3 guard is averaging a career-best 28.8 points (eighth-best in NBA) on career highs in field goal percentage (.488), three-point percentage (.405) and free throw percentage (.874), to go with 3.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.44 steals in 36.5 minutes per contest. He is one of two NBA players averaging 25.0 points or more while shooting at least .400 shooting from beyond the arc (Stephen Curry), and his 136 three-pointers made rank third in the NBA. The Cavaliers’ 26-15 record is the fourth-best mark in the Eastern Conference and the franchise’s best 41-game start since 2017-18 (26-15).
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James won Player of the Week accolades for the Western Conference.
Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant has been diagnosed with an isolated MCL sprain of the right knee. The injury occurred during the third quarter of last night’s game at Miami.
Durant will be reevaluated in two weeks.
Durant has recorded averages of 29.7 points (sixth in the league), 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 blocks (ninth in the league) in 36.0 minutes per game (12th in the league), while shooting a career-high 55.9 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from 3-point range and a career-best and league-leading 93.4 percent from the free-throw line.
Among the players in the league’s top 10 in points per game, Durant has registered the highest field goal percentage and the fewest shots per game (18.8), and he is one of just two players in the league to rank in the top 10 in both points per game and blocks per game.
Durant ranks second in field goals made (410), third in total points scored (1,158), tied for sixth in blocks (58) and eighth in free throws made (267).
In addition to shooting a career-high 62.2 percent from 2-point range, Durant is in the midst of an incredible season-long midrange performance, shooting a career-best 57.1 percent, which also represents the best midrange field goal percentage in a season among all players with at least 200 attempts across the last 25 seasons.
He is tied for the league lead in 25-point games (32) and leads the league in 25-point games while shooting 50.0 percent or better from the field (25), which is only three games shy of matching a single season Nets record in the category.
Durant has also continued his climb up the NBA’s all-time scoring list, passing Alex English, Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, John Havlicek, Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan and Dominique Wilkins this season to vault from 22nd to 14th place with 26,684 career points.
Twice-honored as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week this season, Durant has led Brooklyn to a 27-13 record, good for the second-best record in the league.
The Sacramento Kings have signed PJ Dozier to a 10-day contract.
The 6-6/205, 26-year-old Dozier had been playing for the Iowa Wolves, the Minnesota Timberwolves G-League affiliate, where he averaged 18.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 36.8 minutes per game in the regular season.
Dozier has played in 105 regular season NBA games and 12 NBA playoff games.
The Columbia, South Carolina, native played for the Denver Nuggets from 2019-2022. He played two years of college basketball at the University of South Carolina, helping the Gamecocks reach the national semifinals in 2017.
The San Antonio Spurs yesterday (Sunday) signed center Gorgui Dieng to a 10-day contract.
Dieng, 6-10/265, started this season with the Spurs, appearing in 13 games and averaging 4.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 11.6 minutes before being waived on Jan. 5. The 10-year NBA veteran has played in 610 total games and holds career averages of 7.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20.4 minutes with Minnesota, Memphis, Atlanta and San Antonio. The native of Senegal was originally selected in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft (21st overall) by the Utah Jazz and before being dealt to the Timberwolves on draft night.
Dieng will wear No. 41 for the Silver and Black. The Spurs roster now stands at 17 players.