It was as entertaining an NBA Finals as we have seen in a while — the Heat and Spurs were evenly matched and put on a show.
And they threw down some dunks.
Courtesy NBA.com, enjoy the best dunks of the NBA Finals.
Three Things To Know is NBC’s five-days-a-week wrap-up of the night before in the NBA. Check out NBCSports.com every weekday morning to catch up on what you missed the night before plus the rumors, drama, and dunks that make the NBA must-watch.
It will surprise Knicks fans, but New York has been a good clutch team in the tightest of games this season: In games within three points in the final three minutes, they are 11-9 with a +7.8 net rating.
The Knicks didn’t look like a clutch team — but did what Knicks fans expected — when they blew a 13-point lead by scoring just four points over the final 5:20 of the fourth quarter. Combine that with Jayson Tatum scoring 11 in the frame, and the Celtics came back to tie the game and force OT.
However, in the OT, the Knicks had RJ Barrett knocking down big shots.
And, with the game on the line, they had Jalen Brunson with the block.
WHAT AN ENDING IN BOSTON!
Jalen Brunson with the HUGE block to give the @nyknicks the #NBARivalsWeek overtime win! pic.twitter.com/jo39bvlTOH
— NBA (@NBA) January 27, 2023
With that, the Knicks went into Boston and pulled out the 120-117 OT win over the East-leading Celtics. Julius Randle had 27 points and nine rebounds (and hit the free throws that put the Knicks up for good in OT), Brunson scored 29, and Barrett added 19.
There are promising signs for Knicks fans:
Brunson and Randle just out-dueled Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
The Knicks have now racked up back-to-back wins against the Cavaliers and Celtics.
New York will need more wins like this because they will be battling the Heat, and maybe the Pacers, for that No. 6 seed and avoiding the play-in the rest of the season. But don’t sleep on a couple of quality wins.
Name the team that could least afford to lose its superstar.
The Mavericks — with their heliocentric offense built around Luka Doncic — have to be at the top of the list.
Dallas could be without Doncic for a few games after he sprained his ankle just minutes into Thursday night’s contest against the Suns. Doncic drove on Cameron Johnson but when he couldn’t get to the rim he stopped, spun, tried to step back, stepped on the foot of Mikal Bridges and rolled his left ankle.
Luka went back to the locker room with an apparent ankle injury. pic.twitter.com/zHz5XBVawO
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 27, 2023
Doncic left the game and he did not return. Dallas can’t afford to be without Doncic for long, it gets outscored by 5.3 points per 100 possessions this season when he sits. He is an All-Star starter and in the MVP mix. He averages 33.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.6 assists a game.
Just to prove that last paragraph wrong, the Jazz went out and beat the Suns 99-95 without Doncic behind a season-high 36 points from Spencer Dinwiddie, plus Dorian Finney-Smith chipped in 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Season-high from Spencer Dinwiddie 🔥
The @dallasmavs picked up the win behind his 36 PTS, 6 REB and 9 AST! pic.twitter.com/0mNskSEqft
— NBA (@NBA) January 27, 2023
Last season, Team LeBron won the All-Star Game partly because LeBron James had Giannis Antetokounmpo on his team.
Not this year. It will be Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis, they received the most fan votes in their conferences and will be the captains for the Feb. 19 All-Star Game in Salt Lake City. This is the sixth time LeBron is a captain, and his teams are 5-0.
In a new twist, James and Antetokounmpo will choose their teams right on the court before the game — true playground style. The captains will draft from a pool of starters announced Thursday — selected by a vote of fans, media, and current players — and then the backups from a list of reserves selected by the coaches (which will be announced next week).
Here are this year’s starters (two backcourt, three frontcourt players from each conference):
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Stephen Curry
Luka Doncic
LeBron James
Nikola Jokic
Zion Williamson
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Kyrie Irving
Donovan Mitchell
Kevin Durant
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Jayson Tatum
Joel Embiid was the odd man out of a tight race for the final frontcourt spot in the East (because the fans voted him fourth, the media and players each had him third, but the fans count for 50% of the weighted vote). This will be the first start for Williamson (if he’s healthy enough to play) and Mitchell.
Mavericks fans everywhere were holding their breath.
Just more than three minutes into a showdown with the Suns Thursday, Luka Doncic drove on Cameron Johnson but didn’t get around him, so Doncic stopped, spun, tried to step back, and stepped on the foot of Mikal Bridges‘ and rolled his left ankle.
Luka went back to the locker room with an apparent ankle injury. pic.twitter.com/zHz5XBVawO
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 27, 2023
After a Torey Craig 3-pointer, Doncic left the game and hobbled back to the Mavericks locker room to be checked out. While X-rays were negative Doncic is out for the remainder of the game.
Luka Dončić (left ankle sprain) will not return to tonight’s game in Phoenix.
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) January 27, 2023
It will be tomorrow before the Mavericks can get a feel for how long Doncic might be out. They can’t afford for him to be out long, Dallas has been outscored by 5.3 points per 100 possessions this season when Doncic is off the court. He has been playing through ankle soreness for a few weeks but has missed only a couple of games.
Doncic, who was just voted an All-Star starter, is in the MVP mix this season averaging 33.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.6 assists a game. The Mavericks are 8.7 points per 100 possessions better when he is on the court.
LeBron James is just 157 points shy of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA all-time scoring record, which he should break early next month. But before breaking that iconic record, he tied Abdul-Jabbar for another NBA milestone.
LeBron was the leading fan vote-getter and is an NBA All-Star Game for the 19th time, tying Abdul-Jabbar for the most All-Star appearances in league history.
James and Giannis Antetokounmpo received the most fan votes in their conferences and will be the captains of the teams for the Feb. 19 All-Star Game in Salt Lake City. This is Antetokounmpo’s third time as captain, it is LeBron’s sixth — and his teams are 5-0 in his previous captaincies.
In a new twist, James and Antetokounmpo will pick their teams playground style right on the court before the game. They will choose from a pool of starters announced Thursday — selected by a vote of fans, media, and current players — and then the backups from a list of reserves selected by the coaches (which will be announced next week). Here are this year’s starters (two backcourt, three frontcourt players from each conference):
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Stephen Curry
Luka Doncic
LeBron James
Nikola Jokic
Zion Williamson
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Kyrie Irving
Donovan Mitchell
Kevin Durant
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Jayson Tatum
This is the first start for Zion Williamson and Donovan Mitchell.
The vote also squeezed Joel Embiid out of a crowded frontcourt in the East. Here is the voting breakdown, where each player’s score is weighted based on 50 percent for the fan vote, 25 percent for player vote, and 25 percent for the media vote.
Eastern Conference Frontcourt
| Player (Team) | Fan Rank | Player Rank | Media Rank | Weighted Score |
| 1. *#Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.25 |
| 2. *Kevin Durant (Brooklyn) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2.5 |
| 3. *Jayson Tatum (Boston) | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2.75 |
| 4. Joel Embiid (Philadephia) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3.75 |
| 5. Jimmy Butler (Miami) | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5.5 |
| 6. Pascal Siakam (Toronto) | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5.75 |
| 7. Paolo Banchero (Orlando) | 8 | 8 | 5 | 7.25 |
| 8. Bam Adebayo (Miami) | 11 | 5 | 5 | 8.0 |
| 9. Julius Randle (New York) | 9 | 10 | 5 | 8.25 |
| 10. Kyle Kuzma (Washington) | 7 | 16 | 5 | 9.25 |
Eastern Conference Guards
| Player (Team) | Fan Rank | Player Rank | Media Rank | Weighted Score |
| 1. *Kyrie Irving (Boston) | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1.75 |
| 2. *Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1.75 |
| 3. Jaylen Brown (Boston) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2.75 |
| 4. James Harden (Philadelphia) | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4.5 |
| 5. Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana) | 8 | 6 | 3 | 6.25 |
| 6. DeMar DeRozan (Chicago) | 6 | 4 | 10 | 6.5 |
| 7. Trae Young (Atlanta) | 12 | 5 | 6 | 7.0 |
| 8. LaMelo Ball (Charlotte) | 7 | 9 | 10 | 8.25 |
| 9. Darius Garland (Cleveland) | 10 | 7 | 6 | 8.25 |
| 10. Jalen Brunson (Milwaukee) | 12 | 8 | 9 | 10.25 |
*–Voted to start
#–Team captain
Western Conference Frontcourt
| Player (Team) | Fan Rank | Player Rank | Media Rank | Weighted Score |
| 1. *# LeBron James (Los Angeles) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1.5 |
| 2. *Nikola Jokic (Denver) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 |
| 3. *Zion Williamson (New Orleans) | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3.75 |
| 4. Anthony Davis (Los Angeles) | 3 | 7 | 6 | 4.25 |
| 5. Lauri Markkanen (Utah) | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5.75 |
| 6. Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento) | 9 | 5 | 3 | 6.5 |
| 7. Paul George (L.A. Clippers) | 6 | 6 | 9 | 6.75 |
| 8. Andrew Wiggins (Golden State) | 5 | 19 | 9 | 9.5 |
| 9. Draymond Green (Golden State) | 14 | 9 | 9 | 9.75 |
| 10. Kawhi Leonard (L.A. Clippers) | 11 | 14 | 7 | 10.75 |
Western Conference Guards
| Player (Team) | Fan Rank | Player Rank | Media Rank | Weighted Score |
| 1. *Stephen Curry (Golden State) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1.5 |
| 2. *Luka Doncic (Dallas) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 |
| 3. Ja Morant (Memphis) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 5. Damian Lillard (Portland) | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6.0 |
| 6. De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento) | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6.5 |
| 7. Devin Booker (Phoenix) | 10 | 7 | 5 | 8 |
| 8. Russell Westbrook (Los Angeles) | 6 | 18 | 5 | 8.75 |
| 9. Anthony Edwards (Minnesota) | 13 | 8 | 5 | 9.75 |
| 10. Klay Thompson (Golden State) | 5 | 25 | 5 | 10 |
*–Voted to start
#–Team captain
Stephen Curry has been ejected three times in his NBA career, and each time the incident was mouthpiece related.
The latest came Wednesday night. With 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter of a tight game with the Grizzlies, Klay Thompson missed a floater, Donte DiVincenzo tipped the rebound out and kept it alive, Thomspon grabbed it and passed it to Poole out top to reset the offense, with Curry calling for the ball a few feet away from him. Instead, Poole jacked up a three like the shot clock was going to expire. The shot missed and Curry, out of frustration, threw his mouthpiece in the stands. That got him an automatic ejection.
Steph was just ejected from the game after throwing his mouth piece … pic.twitter.com/b1rl7cEMXq
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 26, 2023
“He knows he can’t make that mistake,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said postgame, via the Associated Press.
Poole had fun with Curry postgame, throwing his mouthpiece in the hallway.
JP threw his mouthpiece when he saw Steph 🤣 pic.twitter.com/ZSInkuY0P7
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 26, 2023
“I did see that,” Curry said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “It’s like one of those ‘too soon’ jokes. I was still hot. I was still hot.”
After the game, some fans tried to argue that, by NBA rules, Curry did not have to be ejected. The NBA rulebook specifically states that any “player who throws or kicks the ball directly into the stands with force” will be ejected, as will a player who throws “the ball or any object at an official.” The argument goes Curry didn’t throw his mouthpiece at an official. However, the rulebook also says a technical can be “assessed to any player on the court or anyone seated on the bench for conduct which, in the opinion of an official, is detrimental to the game,” and the league has said consistently in recent years that throwing a mouthpiece or anything into the crowd is detrimental to the game, penalized with a technical and automatic ejection. Maybe there should be more leeway with the enforcement of said rule, but Curry knew better.
The Warriors went on to get the win over their rivals from Memphis, the old guard held the new guard off again. But the next time these teams meet, the Warriors will need Curry on the court until the end of the game.
