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A couple hours after New Orleans sealed one of its most impressive victories of the season Friday at Phoenix, Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado took to Twitter and wrote about his team, "Don't let us figure stuff out. That's going be scary." The same could be said right now about teammate CJ McCollum. Since a rough New Orleans debut for the nine-year NBA veteran Feb. 10 in which he shot 6/21 from the field vs. Miami, the 30-year-old has been one of the league's most prolific scorers, tallying 30-plus points in four of five games. The lone exception was his 23-point outing vs. Toronto, a game New Orleans won by 30 and didn't need him to play deep into the fourth quarter. Since McCollum's 15-point night against the Heat, the shooting guard ranks fourth in the NBA in scoring (minimum three games played), averaging 31.8 points. He's shooting 58 percent from the field and 47 percent on three-pointers. His contributions also have gone well beyond putting the ...

Thornton Academy's Braden Camire tries to get around South Portland's Owen Maloney during a Jan. 18 game. Thornton won, 58-53, to hand South Portland its only loss of the season. The teams meet Saturday night at Cross Insurance Arena for the Class AA South title. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer The South Portland High boys' basketball team is the No. 1 seed, 19-1, and has been the clear leader in Class AA South all season. But the way Coach Kevin Millington and his star junior center JP Estrella were talking after the Red Riots' convincing 50-32 regional semifinal win against Bonny Eagle, you'd think South Portland will be a heavy underdog when they take on No. 2 Thornton Academy (13-6) at 8:45 p.m. Saturday at Cross Insurance Arena. "They've outplayed us both games this year. We stole the first one," Millington said. "They've beaten us mentally, physically, both games," Estrella said. The South Portland-Thornton Academy gam...

Central's Joe Griffin (2) drives to the basket in Thursday's game versus Putnam at the Hoophall Classic. On Friday afternoon, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the names of the 60 seniors who were selected to play in the 2022 Western Massachusetts Senior All-Star Games. The players were divided into six teams, based on the designated classes used for the PVIAC tournaments: two girls teams, two boys teams of Class C and D players and two more boys teams comprised of Class A and B players. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

In a final attempt to tie Wednesday's game against Villanova, UConn women's basketball senior Christyn Williams launched a long-shot 3-pointer from above the arc. But the ball didn't release from her hands until after the final buzzer. The Huskies' 169-game conference winning streak had already snapped by the time the ball came back down to earth in front of the basket. "As a senior, I have to make sure that my team is ready to go," Williams said afterward. "This game is on me. I apologized to my teammates, and it won't happen again moving forward." Two days later, Williams stepped up and contributed 20 points, four rebounds and three steals in UConn's win over DePaul to keep its 29-year streak of not losing back-to-back games alive. Williams has become UConn's most consistent threat this season, especially a...

It began on Nov. 1, and has run every day through Feb. 18, 2022 — we published a player profile on each player as we counted down our list of the top 75 players in NBA history, voted on by our panel. What you have below are the final rankings, and deep profiles on every player in our final ranking, from the GOAT Michael Jordan down through players that define the NBA's history more than you might realize (see: George Mikan). Dig in below for a deep dive on the best 75 of all time. David Aldridge: Explaining the criteria behind our selection process. NBA 75 panel: And they're revealed … The Athletic's panel's ballots for best all-time players No. 1: Michael Jordan (Illustration: Wes McCabe / The Athletic; Photo: Focus on Sport / Getty Images) This ranking is not in dispute. It's a formality, a wave of the hand, a tip of the cap, an admittance of the obvious. The sky is blue. The earth is rou...

SALT LAKE CITY — Once the final buzzer rang on Sunday's NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, the countdown clock began for the festivities to begin next year in Salt Lake City. For the second time ever, Utah will be the center of the hoops universe as host of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Back in 1993, Jazz legends Karl Malone and John Stockton shared MVP honors as the Western Conference defeated the East 135-132 in overtime. While many details of the event's return to Salt Lake City in 2023 remain a mystery, fans are now able to reserve a spot inside Vivint Arena for the game and all the surrounding hoopla. NBA Experiences is taking deposits for ticket packages which can include All-Star Game tickets, All-Star Saturday Night tickets and Rising Star Game tickets. According to the NBA site, a $250 deposit will get fans guaranteed priority access to purchase Official Experience and Ticket Packages when they go on sale.

Des Moines' north side residents are one meeting away from seeing a final recommendation for a new and improved recreation center for their community. The process has included five community public forums, hosted by the city and Chicago-based architecture firm Latent Design, to include residents in the project's planning process. So far, residents have collaborated and had open conversations at these forums to help narrow down ideas for a site plan. At Thursday's meeting, the residents with ideas included local Girl Scout Troop 30078, who uses the Grubb YMCA as a meeting space. The girls shared their vision for a new center which included plenty of space to play, a new basketball court, a splash pad and more. In all of the public forums, one major theme has emerged: Des Moines' north side residents want access to the same state-of-the-art community facilities as their suburban peers.  Already, $12 million ha...

Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson are definitely two of the greatest players in the NBA. Despite having retired from a sport a while back, they still stand apart due to their attributes in the game, as well as their huge legacies. They proved their worth more times than one can imagine. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad They both had their own eras which often makes one wonder who was the better player in his prime. Both MJ's open a fair debate as to who is the greatest player of all time. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad The duo dominated their respective time in the NBA in their prime. Magic Johnson was at the peak of his career in the 80s and dominated with his Lakers side. Whereas Michael Jordan dominated the 90s with the Chicago Bulls winning 2 three-peats in the decade. Michael Jordan talks about the 1991 NBA finals Michael Jordan entered the NBA when Magic Johnson was in his prime and arguably the best at the time. Although their head-to-head record w...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) -The Alabama High School Athletic Association has released the the following basketball playoff schedule: AHSAA REGIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS – ONE GAME STILL OUTNORTHEAST REGIONAL Pete Mathews Arena, JSU CLASS 7A Wednesday, Feb. 16 Girls' Semifinals Vestavia Hills (31-2) 65) Huntsville (16-16) 32 Hewitt-Trussville (25-6) 61, Sparkman (26-5) 45 Boys' Semifinals Huntsville (23-10) 70, Vestavia Hills (25-5) 42Spain Park (25-7) 59, Sparkman (24-8) 46 Southeast Regional ChampionshipsSOUTHEAST REGIONALGarrett Coliseum, Montgomery CLASS 7A Wednesday, Feb. 16Girls' Semifinals Central-Phenix City (22-10) 58, Dothan (16-12) 57Auburn (19-6) 61, Prattville (13-10) 37 Boys' Semifinals Enterprise (22-6) 50, Auburn (18-11) 31Smiths Station (24-8) 63, Jeff Davis (20-9) 60 SOUTHWEST REGIONALCramton Bowl Multi-Plex & Garrett Coliseum, Montgomery CLASS 7A Wednesday, Feb. 16 (Garrett Coliseum)Girls' Semifinals Davidson 29-2) 55, Daphne (19-12) 40Theodore...

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