NBA News Blog – Page 196 – NBA Blog

Wizards sign Jordan Schakel to two-way contract, and waive Joel Ayayi

The Washington Wizards have signed guard Jordan Schakel to a two-way contract.

And in a related move, the Wizards waived guard Joel Ayayi, who was previously on a two-way contract and appeared in seven games with the team this season.

Schakel, who has played in 35 games (all starts) with the Capital City Go-Go (the Wizards’ NBA G League affiliate), originally spent 2021 training camp and preseason with the Wizards, where he appeared in two games. He earned a 10-Day contract with the Wizards in December, appearing in two games for Washington.

The 6-6, 200-pound guard has averaged 14.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game with Capital City this season, shooting .370 from three-point range on a team-high 7.7 attempts per game. Schakel has scored at least 10 points in a team-high 31 games and his 100 made threes rank eighth overall and are the second-most by an NBA G League rookie this year.

Originally from Torrance, California, Schakel graduated from San Diego State with the third-most made threes in school history. He also ranked third nationally in three-point percentage during the 2020-21 season, shooting .461 from deep.

Kings center Domantas Sabonis suspended one game by NBA

Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis has been suspended one game without pay for aggressively confronting and making contact with a game official, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations.

The incident began with Sabonis receiving a technical foul for an unsportsmanlike reaction to a called foul. Sabonis then reacted demonstratively again in the vicinity of the game official, and approached and bumped the official in a hostile manner, resulting in a second technical foul and an ejection.

The episode occurred with 4:35 remaining in the fourth quarter of Sacramento’s 131-115 loss to the New York Knicks on March 7 at Golden 1 Center.

Sabonis will serve his suspension tonight when the Kings play host to the Denver Nuggets.

Thunder announce season-ending surgeries for Lu Dort, Mike Muscala and Ty Jerome

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced the following injury updates today:

Lu Dort underwent a successful procedure today to address a labrum tear in his left shoulder. The procedure was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache at the Kerlan Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, with Thunder medical personnel present. Dort is expected to return to full basketball activities prior to the start of the 2022-23 season.

Mike Muscala underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure and additional lateral ligament repair on his right ankle today. The procedure was performed by Dr. Robert Anderson at the Bellin Health Titletown Sports Medicine and Orthopedics in Green Bay, Wis., with Thunder medical personnel present. Muscala is expected to return to full basketball activities prior to the start of the 2022-23 season.

Ty Jerome underwent a successful procedure today to address a sports hernia. The procedure was performed by Dr. William Meyers at the Vincera Institute in Philadelphia, with Thunder medical personnel present. Jerome is expected to return to full basketball activities in approximately eight weeks.

Miami Heat sign forward Haywood Highsmith

The Miami Heat have signed forward Haywood Highsmith.

Highsmith, who was previously signed to a 10-day contract by the HEAT on December 30, February 15 and again on February 26, has appeared in 10 games with Miami this season totaling 24 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks and a steal while shooting 40 percent (6-of-15) from three-point range. He has also appeared in 11 regular season G League games (seven starts) with the Delaware Blue Coats this season and averaged 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.00 steals and 29.4 minutes while shooting 50 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from three-point range.

Per the South Florida Sun Sentinel, “the roster spot for Highsmith came free when the Heat traded forward KZ Okpala to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Feb. 10 NBA trading deadline in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick. Okpala currently is out of the league.”

After spending four seasons at Wheeling University from 2014-18, Highsmith signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, splitting the season between the Sixers and their G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. Highsmith appeared in five games with the 76ers in 2018-19 totaling nine points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal while shooting 40 percent (4-of-10) from the field. Additionally, he has appeared in 106 career G League games (76 starts) over three seasons, all with the Blue Coats, averaging 11.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.18 steals and 29.6 minutes while shooting 43.5 percent from the field.

Knicks forward Julius Randle scores career-high 46 points

Knicks forward Julius Randle scores career-high 46 points in a big win over the Kings Monday that featured 83 NY points in the second half. Via the New York Post:

Julius Randle got fined by the NBA Sunday and then got even.

This time it was the Knicks’ turn to rally from a big deficit and capture a desperately needed victory.

Randle exploded for a career-high 46 points to lead a 44-point third-quarter barrage as the Knicks rallied from 19 points down in the first half to knock out the Kings, 131-115, in a Wild West shootout at Golden1 Center.

“When he plays with that type of intensity, it lifts everyone,’’ Tom Thibodeau said. “He was attacking the basket, shooting the 3, making hustle plays. It was a great all-around game from him.’’ …

The Knicks exploded for a 35-17 start to the second half to erase their 15-point halftime hole. They finished the half with 83 points, the most by a Knicks team after intermission since 1969.

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Timberwolves beat Trail Blazers by 43 points

The Minnesota Timberwolves enjoyed a 43-point win tonight. Here’s the Star Tribune on it:

Two of the Timberwolves three best players, the injured Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell, sat toward the end of the bench Monday night and never bothered to take off their coats.

They probably knew their team wasn’t going to have to sweat this one out. That was the case pretty much from the start as the Wolves downed a severely shorthanded Portland team 124-81.

The Trail Blazers, who were without many players including Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic, were already shorthanded when the teams met Saturday. Then they came into Monday without Anfernee Simons, who scored 38 on Saturday. The Wolves did what they should against a roster better suited for March Madness.

The Wolves didn’t even play particularly well. They shot just 8-for-22 as they built a 31-15 lead after the first quarter. That’s because Portland shot 5-for-25. They didn’t have to focus particularly well, and given their busy schedule of late they could use a night where they could just turn their brains off.

Karl-Anthony Towns made quick work of Portland with 27 points and 13 rebounds while Malik Beasley had 19 as the Wolves won their fifth straight game.

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Warriors forward Draymond Green aims to return next week

Here’s the San Jose Mercury News with a report direct from Warriors forward Draymond Green that he expects to be back in action soon:

The Warriors had no target date for the return of Draymond Green Monday night, but Green has one in mind.

Green went further than coach Steve Kerr would on his podcast “The Draymond Green Show.”

“By the way, I am targeting my return next Monday, the 14th, vs. the Wizards. That is the date that I have targeted,” Green said. “I’m as excited as hell. It’s been two months, almost two and a half by the time I play. I have never missed that much time during a season. I once had an ankle injury that kept me out for a long time in high school. This is something different for me. I’m extremely excited to get back out there with my guys to try to help right this ship.”

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Should the Lakers use Russell Westbrook as a reserve instead of as a starter?

As the NBA regular season starts to wrap up over the next month, the Lakers still face all sorts of challenges and questions to answer, including exactly how to make the most of Russell Westbrook’s talent. Here’s the OC Register:

There are only 19 games left in the season, and Westbrook is still disgruntled about his shifting role. After Thursday’s loss, Westbrook took a shot at the coaching staff again: “My role and what I’m doing has changed every single night, so I’m just trying to figure that out as I’m playing and to be able to benefit and help my team.”

Not long after, ESPN reported that Coach Frank Vogel was facing internal pressure to bring Westbrook off the bench, including a report of a tense Friday film session between Vogel and Westbrook. So far, according to ESPN, Vogel has resisted making the move. The report cites that the push is coming “among many in the Los Angeles Lakers organization,” which is deliciously vague.

Said Vogel on Friday: “We have discussions, just like the front office has thousands of trade discussions every deadline, and they don’t discuss every one of those. Most of them don’t come to fruition. And that’s where we’re at with Russ. Is there a path where that’s the better option? We have talked about that. We’ve talked about everything we can do with our team. We’re not there.”

The interesting mental exercise comes from imagining what would change for the Lakers by bringing Westbrook off the bench. Westbrook would be out of the Lakers’ starting lineup, which presumably would feature LeBron James and more active defenders and long-range shooters more prominently. Westbrook would play fewer minutes of his inefficient style that has not meshed well, particularly with James. He might get more free reign in those secondary units as the point guard, which could theoretically help him find his offensive rhythm.

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Jayson Tatum scores 54 points in Celtics win over Nets

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum had himself quite a game today on national TV in a win over the Brooklyn Nets. Here’s Boston.com:

As Jayson Tatum stepped to the line late in Sunday’s matinee game against the Nets, chants of “M-V-P” rained down from the rafters.

How can you argue with them? Tatum’s free throws were his 53rd and 54th points in the Celtics‘ 126-120 victory over a Nets team that was nearly whole — missing only Ben Simmons. Tatum rose to the occasion against Kevin Durant, who has arguably been the best player in the world for much longer than he gets credit. He beat double teams. He worked his way to the free-throw line 17 times. He buried eight of his 15 3-point attempts.

“Obviously, when you kind of get in that zone, the basket just seemed to be a little bit bigger,” Tatum said after the game.

Perhaps most importantly, when the Nets forced the ball out of his hands, he was a willing passer. The biggest shot of the game was Jaylen Brown’s back-breaking corner triple with 39 seconds remaining which was assisted by Marcus Smart, but the advantage was created when the Nets double-teamed Tatum.

“[Tatum] was unstoppable,” Brown said afterward. “I think that helps with your offense, right?”

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Raptors guard Malachi Flynn out with hamstring strain

Toronto Raptors guard Malachi Flynn sustained a strained left hamstring in Friday’s game against the Orlando Magic.

Flynn had started the previous four games for the Raptors, averaging 16.0 points, 5.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 35.6 minutes during this stretch. He scored a season-high 20 points and tied a season best with eight assists in 39 minutes against the Magic.

Flynn is out indefinitely, and his condition will be updated as appropriate.