About Last Night: LeBron flirts with triple-double in return

LeBron James returned after missing the past 17 games, shook off some rust, and helped the Lakers beat the crosstown Clippers 123-120 in overtime.

In his first game since straining his left groin on Christmas Day, James finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds, falling just one assist short of a triple-double.

LeBron, without any time limit, kept a steady pace and didn’t show his usual dynamism in his drives to the basket. However, he proved crucial in overtime, making the leading jump shot with 1:15 remaining. He then assisted Lance Stephenson with a fastbreak, and-1 layup that essentially secured the game.

“Definitely ecstatic about being back out there with my guys,” James said after the Lakers’ victory, “but after being out five weeks, you know, I’m feeling it right now.”

The call that sent Stephenson to the line left Clippers coach Doc Rivers in disbelief. He was of the opinion that Stephenson should have been penalized with a flagrant foul for elbowing Boban Marjanovic.

“I though it would be overturned,” Rivers said at his postgame news conference. “I don’t know how you can come to that judgement.”

Warriors no longer unbeatable

Perhaps the Warriors aren’t unbeatable, even with DeMarcus Cousins back on the team.

Joel Embiid had 26 points and 20 rebounds to spoil Cousins’ home debut with the Warriors, and the 76ers snapped Golden State’s 11-game winning streak with a 113-104 victory.

Cousins, in his most challenging game since his comeback from a left Achilles’ tendon injury, scored seven points on 3-for-10 shooting and secured six rebounds in 25 minutes. Embiid significantly contributed to this situation.

“It’s clear that I’m yet to reach where I aim to be,” Cousins commented post-game. “I’m putting in immense effort daily to return to my previous form or surpass it. My journey is far from over,” he added.

The Warriors had difficulty shooting from deep due to Klay Thompson being sidelined because of an illness. The exception, naturally, was Stephen Curry who racked up 41 points with 10 successful 3-point attempts. The remainder of the team, however, only managed 1 successful attempt out of 20 from the 3-point range.

Steve Kerr expressed dissatisfaction with his team’s performance. “It resembled a pick-up game,” he stated. “We’re just mindlessly throwing the ball, not playing with any mindfulness at all. That’s not acceptable in this league.”

Steve Kerr didn’t like the team’s effort or mindfulness pic.twitter.com/QXeoAF3L2W

— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) February 1, 2019

That escalated quickly

Kristaps Porzingis is headed to Dallas after a surprising trade the Knicks say the All-Star forward requested.

The deal came together after Porzingis met briefly with Knicks management Thursday and left franchise officials with the impression that he wanted to be traded, sources told ESPN.

Hours later, Porzingis’ wish was granted.

Porzingis posted a goodbye message to New York and the Knicks fans on Twitter and Instagram after the trade became official.

Later in the evening Porzingis hinted there may be more to the story when he posted a cryptic Instagram story that read: “The truth will come out :)”

Kristaps Porzingis on IG
vs
Kristaps Porzingis on his IG story pic.twitter.com/WEUGWkNnbI

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) February 1, 2019

All-Star reserves revealed

The NBA announced the 14 reserves for the 2019 All-Star Game, four of whom will be first-time All-Stars: Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton, Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons and Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic.

Jokic, the first Nuggets All-Star since Carmelo Anthony in 2011, disclosed the chaos that ensued when he got the news.

“Jokic revealed on TNT, “My girlfriend began crying, and my brother started yelling and screaming.”

All smiles from the Jokić family as Nikola gets his first NBA All-Star nod!#MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/YoYw7IBclh

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) February 1, 2019

Luka Doncic, Andre Drummond, Rudy Gobert, Tobias Harris and Donovan Mitchell were among the potentially deserving players who did not make the cut.

Doncic, a front-runner throughout the voting process, was aiming to be the first rookie chosen since Blake Griffin in 2011. However, he received the disappointing news just minutes before the game started.

Bats swarm court in San Antonio

Three bats hovering over the court caused an early delay in the first quarter of the Nets-Spurs game for 2 1/2 minutes. Stadium staff, security, and ballboys tried to chase the bats away with towels, while officials directed players back to the bench.

A stadium official eventually brought out a net, but the bats were scared up to the rafters. Some fans shouted “Manu! Manu!” in tribute to recently retired Manu Ginobili, who famously swatted a bat with his hands in 2009.

There’s nothing to look at. It’s simply a bat delay in San Antonio.

Carry on. @spurs | #GoSpursGo | #NBA pic.twitter.com/8DWh1fX6N2

— FOX Sports Southwest (@FOXSportsSW) February 1, 2019

Budenholzer clinches All-Star spot

Mike Budenholzer, the coach of Milwaukee, along with his staff, are going to the All-Star Game.

The Bucks’ 105-92 victory over the Toronto Raptors clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference through games played on Sunday, Feb. 3. As a result, Budenholzer will coach in the All-Star Game for the second time in five years. He also coached in 2015, when he was with the Atlanta Hawks.

“Budenholzer expressed, “It’s a substantial honor. This speaks volumes about our team. The players are the ones who deserve the credit for putting the coaching staff in this position.”

Budenholzer is the second Bucks coach to receive the All-Star recognition, following Larry Costello who coached in the 1971 and 1974 All-Star Games.

Worth noting

• Blake Griffin finished with 445 points in January, the highest-scoring month in team history. The previous record was held by Isiah Thomas, who had 442 points in March 1983.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton are the first Bucks duo to be selected to an NBA All-Star game since Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson made it in 2001.

• Andre Drummond posted his eighth 20-point, 20-rebound game of the season, the most such games by any player before the All-Star break since Kevin Willis in 1991-92.