Nick Friedell
@NickFriedell
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A Clippers security official stood next to Kawhi with the game ball from tonight in his hands. When asked what he would do with the ball to commemorate his first career triple double -- Kawhi responded: "Just take it home. I don't know, I might shoot with it.".
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Nick Nurse on Kawhi “You can’t blame a guy for wanting to go home. That’s what he texted me today ‘I’m going home.’ And I just said ‘You’ve changed a lot of lives by what you’ve accomplished in Toronto, mine especially.’ And thank him for what he did . ”.
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Many around the league and within the Nets organization were hoping that Kyrie would say at least these two things today: . 1. “I’m sorry.”.2. “I don’t have anti-Semitic beliefs.”. That did not happen.
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I feel like I’ve watched that exact same Bears game about 1,000 times in my life.
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Kyrie: “I love Steph, man. The guy has completely revolutionized the game.”.
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The way the Warriors have publicly welcomed back Klay should be studied by all other professional teams when a former star returns. Classy. Emotional. Fitting for a player who helped make the organization what it is today.
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Ben Simmons just looked over at me and said — “Make sure you get this. Then dunked — and said “There you go.”
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KD admits the Nets were a little more locked in because they wanted to play well for Simmons because he couldn’t be out there himself. “We look at Ben as our brother . it’s hard for you to chant at Ben Simmons when you’re losing that much.”.
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KD said his pick for MVP would be Joel Embiid. As for the narrative aspect of the MVP race — as it pertains to votes, Durant knows it’s out of Embiid’s control. “In Joel’s case, more people like Giannis and Jokic. It’s as simple as that.”.
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Ben Simmons getting a couple shots up after practice.
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Steve Nash says Ben Simmons has been cleared for contact. He got some 4-on-4 work in yesterday. Nash said he came through it well.
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Giannis, winking, when asked what it meant to become the Bucks' all-time leading scorer: . "It's good because I'm changing the narrative. I don't want to be the guy only that dunks and runs. I can make a three.".
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Kyrie getting some extra work in after practice — with the NYC background behind him.
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The Pelicans past and future collide as Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson meet up and share a couple moments prior to Zion’s first NBA game.
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Steve Kerr says Andrew Wiggins got vaccinated. Wiggins will play Monday vs. Portland.
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KD said he was “shocked” by Nash’s decision to leave — said it was weighing on him during the day. “I enjoyed coming to work with Steve.”.
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Harden: "I don't look like the crazy one. I don’t look like the guy or the quitter or whatever the media want to call me. I knew what was going on and I just decided to…hey, I'm not built for this. I don't want to deal with that. I want to play basketball and have fun".
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Now that the Bulls have landed Donovan — the next move should be to sign Joakim Noah to be a veteran presence in the locker room. Noah has a great deal of respect for Donovan dating back to their days at Florida and still loves Chicago. He can be the Udonis Haslem for the Bulls.
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Everybody in attendance at Oracle gets one of these tonight.
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KD on reaching 25k point club: “I should be at 30 right now to be honest.”.
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Kyrie Irving has deleted his tweet that included a link to the movie “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America”.
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Jamal Murray was in agony underneath the basket for a few moments -- he appeared to be grabbing his left knee. Nuggets coaching staff instantly knew injury was bad and started calling for more attention. Murray just limped his way back to locker room.
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The Warriors set a new NBA season high with 41 assists tonight.
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There is just absolutely no way MJ would do this. He always understood what his presence to the game meant. And to do it a few hours before the game starts — come on now. At least do it a couple days earlier so they can get somebody else in there.
LeBron James will not play in tonight’s All-Star Game, he says. He will rest, to help his lingering foot and ankle discomfort.
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Steve Kerr says DeMarcus Cousins will be active tonight for Game 1.
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Kerr: “I’m not worried about Drake — I called him on his cell phone earlier . my daughter just rolled her eyes, ‘No more dad jokes please.’”.
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Kyrie said he really appreciated Adam Silver standing up for him in regard to the NYC vax mandate: “My respect level for him went to a whole new level . he took one for the team.”.
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A somber scene at the Nets facility. Staffers watching coverage of the subway shooting on the TVs just off the practice floor. Helicopters flying around the area as cell phones buzz warning about what’s going on outside. Subway stop is about half a mile from Nets facility.
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Nothing can bring the country together quite like a Curry flurry.
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I can’t remember a time when Chicago teams have been this embarrassingly bad at the same time. A city full of teams going absolutely nowhere.
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Robin Lopez brought his dog Muppet to his closeout interview today.
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Butler shouts out Deng, Boozer, DRose and Noah as veterans who helped him learn the game the way he has helped Herro in his rookie year.
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D’Angelo Russell just had his introductory press conference as a Warrior. Says he understands the business of basketball — knows things may change down the line and he could always be moved later but is excited to play with Steph and Klay when he’s healthy.
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There are only two 4-0 teams in the NBA: . The Golden State Warriors and the Chicago Bulls.
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I cannot believe the Bears didn’t hire Harbaugh when they had the chance. The answer was right in front of them and they messed up. Again.
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Kyrie just spoke for over six minutes. He said he took responsibility for his posts — but there was no formal apology like many around the league were hoping to hear. The press conference was cut short by a Nets PR staffer.
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Wiggins’ transformation this year has been really impressive. But what set it all up was his decision to get vaxxed. He didn’t want to do it, but it brought the Warriors even closer. It was a choice Kyrie wasn’t willing to make — and is a huge reason why the Nets’ season imploded.
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Draymond:”I think the only thing missing for me is Klay not being here.”.
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Yuta was beaming walking out of the Nets’ locker room after Ohtani struck out Trout and closed out WBC for Japan. He said he is friends with Ohtani and looks up to him. “He’s like God in Japan right now. Everybody looks up to him.”
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Entire Warriors roster waited for Steph to finish his interview on the floor -- Draymond threw him the ball as he walked off. They handed the ball to longtime scorekeeper Fred Kast in honor of his 57 years as scorekeeper then took a team picture with him. Great moment.
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Draymond relays interesting postgame story — Steve Kerr presented game ball to James Wiseman for his first career double double — who proceeded to give it to Steph for his 62 point performance.
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After almost 10 years in Chicago -- I start this season in a new place. I am covering the Golden State Warriors for ESPN and look forward to chronicling their journey.
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Kerr: “Steph Curry — was just Steph Curry. There’s never been anybody like him. Those last two shots were ridiculous.”.
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One thing is very clear after listening to Kyrie speak postgame today: There is nothing that is going to make him change his mind regarding the vaccine. He’s made up his mind — he’s not going to take it.
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Rajon Rondo remains one of the most unique personalities in the NBA. He just helped workers at T-Mobile Arena roll some beer kegs down the hallway before walking back into the Lakers locker room.
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Jimmy Butler went through all of Thursday's scrimmage. He's hopeful he'll be able to.
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Davis on why he wore the "That's All Folks" t-shirt last night: "I didn't choose it. I actually didn't choose it. It was hanging for me already when I put my clothes on.". Do you know who hung it? . "No, I'm not sure.".
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Quinndary Weatherspoon said that several people in the organization told him that Klay sung his praises to the front office after the way he defended Thompson in several GLeague practices in Santa Cruz.
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This is the Kelly Oubre the Warriors thought they were getting.
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Ben Simmons getting some post practice shooting form work in with Kyle Korver.
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Of course it was Steph, LeBron and KD making the big plays down the stretch. They carried Team USA the same way they’ve been carrying the NBA for the better part of two decades.
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Kyrie: “I didn’t mean to cause any harm. I’m not the one who made the documentary”.
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Steph having a long postgame chat with Bob McKillop — the longtime men’s basketball coach at Davidson.
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Spoelstra on Jimmy’s minutes: “I didn’t see how many minutes he played. Probably close to the Chicago Bulls kind of minutes.”. Somewhere Thibs beams.
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Clock runs out at Tottenham. Somebody screams “We’ve got a fu***** quarterback!”. Bears fans all over the section erupt in joy.
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The Miami Heat made the gamble on Jimmy Butler that the Chicago Bulls were never sure about. They believed he could be the face of a championship team. That belief is why — after years of searching — Butler thinks he has found a permanent basketball home.
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Kerr, when asked if he was looking forward to the Warriors having another chance to turn things around tomorrow night in New Orleans: “I’m looking forward to the Modelo that’s waiting in my locker.”.
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Pop on Klay's return: "It's another big thrill for the fans. I don't mean just Golden State. The league is about players, it's about talent . and him being one of the best shooters in the world, and also a hell of a defender, just adds to the aura of their team and to the NBA.".
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It was a hell of a ride for 14 years. I poured everything I had into this job. Looking forward to what’s next.
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It's in moments like these where I picture Steve Nash reading this on his phone on a beach somewhere, cracking open a beer, and leaning back in his chair with a wry smile on his face.
Jason Kidd on Kyrie Irving: “We have a relationship. He’s all about basketball. He wants to win. He wants to be coached. This is a great opportunity for me.”.
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In a sea full of Steph jerseys lined up around the Warriors tunnel, a fan held out an Andrew Wiggins jersey hoping Wiggins would sign it. To Wiggins’ credit, he saw it, stopped and signed the jersey — and made the fan’s night.
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Klay said he was playing beach volleyball with Jonas Jerebko yesterday and decided to jump into the ocean to clear his head. He thinks that got him on the right track again.
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Jimmy Butler just got the best of LeBron James in a Finals game. Again. Butler has lifted his game to a totally different place on the biggest stage of all.
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Nets locker room is still not open yet. This is very unusual. Usually it opens up right after Nash speaks.
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Nets announce that Ben Simmons will undergo a "microdiscectomy procedure" on Thursday to "alleviate pain caused by the herniated disc" in his back.
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Meyers Leonard: "I've heard that the player lounges are nice. I saw some stuff on social media where guys were playing bags. Let me just tell you something, I come from the sticks No. 1. No. 2 I went to the University of Illinois. I am nice at bags. So anybody can meet me there.".
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This is ridiculous by Popovich. He’s not running a college program. Pro players all understand booing is part of the game.
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Kyrie on getting booed by the Bay crowd again: “We know each other well.”.
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Dragic on the Butler/Spoelstra argument the other night: “That’s normal. I was here for seven years. This is how we operated here.”.
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That Vucevic deal was just so awful for the Bulls. Set the franchise back several years. They took a big swing — and missed badly.
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Erik Spoelstra: “Every young player coming into this league should study footage of Jimmy Butler.”.
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Jimmy Butler has accomplished something I wasn't sure he ever could -- something many in the Bulls organization and all across the league -- didn't thought he could be: . He's become the face of a championship caliber team. As usual, he's gotten the last laugh on everybody.
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Gentry said the fallout from the Davis trade discussions for the both the Lakers and the Pelicans was the most ‘toxic’ situation he’s seen in 31 years in the league.
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Steph and Klay are absolutely loving the fact that Warriors are getting the best of the Rockets yet again. Huge smiles over on the bench.
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KD doubled down on his praise of Ja Morant after the game. "He's the most marketable guy in our league -- the face of our league going forward. There are so many kids that are inspired by what he does.".
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Nash says Simmons got an epidural while the Nets were in Orlando. The hope is that it will make his back start to feel better and he will be able to do more moving forward.
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KD on Klay: "I'm excited for him. I know it's a huge, huge day out there in the Bay Area. It's going to be electric in there today. Talking to Klay over the last couple years, you can just feel it through text messages how excited he is to get back on the floor.".
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Poles has somehow made things even worse than Pace did. An impressive feat.
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An honest answer from Wiggins, when asked if he’s glad he got vaccinated given the cases spiking all across the NBA: “No, I’m not. But it is what it is, I guess.
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Jazz star Donovan Mitchell spent a solid 10-15 minutes outside of the Warriors locker room waiting for Stephen Curry to finish his postgame responsibilities. Mitchell wanted to introduce Curry to some family and friends.
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KD: "I think part of the experience of coming to an NBA game is to heckle. Some people don't even enjoy basketball, their lives are so shi*** that they get to just aim it at other people. So it's easy to kind of get that release at a basketball game. Ben understands that.".
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Tyler Herro is the rookie sharpshooter who plays with swagger that Jimmy and the Bulls always wanted Doug McDermott to be.
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My 91-year-old grandmother just called and asked me a question that made me smile and feel sad all at the same time:. “What am I supposed to do? They’ve cancelled all my sports.”.
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Jae Crowder, when asked to define Heat culture: . "A level of professionalism, a level of fight, a level of competitiveness, a level of just being the best in-shape team, a level of nastiness . I just feel like it definitely is real. It's a real thing. The culture is real.".
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The Heat say Tyler Herro and the rest of the players on the injury report will be “warming up with the intent of playing”.
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Spoelstra on Herro: “It’s all hands on deck. He passed his testing with the trainers.”.
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My 88 year old grandmother -- who was at the last World Series game at Wrigley in '45 -- just called me screaming: "They're not dead yet!".
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First time we’ve seen this — KD, Kyrie and Simmons all getting some shots up at the same time after practice.
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Nash says he believes Kyrie will be here today at Barclays to watch the game.
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Wiggins on playing with Steph for the first time: “He’s the most unselfish superstar . he makes the game fun, makes the game exciting.”.
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Melo on Steph: "The way the game is now, this is his pace. He's a focal point -- he's putting that team on his back . He's still Steph Curry. He's out there sometimes, you're in awe watching him play, the shots that he make, the shots that he take, it's just great to watch".
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Steph Curry over his last eight games: . 282 points, (35.3 per game) 96-for-169 from the field, 53-for-101 from beyond the arc.
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KD: "Nobody in this league wants to let me go 1-on-1 or want to see me at my spots, so they’re going to throw three or four people at me, play zone up when I get the ball. I was just telling him, ‘This is how great I am . ’.
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Kerr mentioned just before the shutdown how hard the season had been on Klay -- how much Klay missed the game and how much his teammates enjoyed seeing him again. As Warriors wait for tests on Klay's leg and hope for best, the level of shock and disbelief within org. is palpable.
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