Community Picks: Denver Nuggets 0% vs Charlotte Hornets 0%

Things stayed ugly for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. “We’re gonna be just fine,” Kyrie Irving said late Thursday. If you’re looking for a word to cover Cleveland’s fifth loss in seven games, and 11th in 19 since the All-Star break — a game in which Irving, Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert combined to shoot 12-for-38 from the field, that saw Love foul out in just 20 1/2 minutes of floor time, and that turned on a third quarter in which Cleveland allowed the Bulls to shoot 60 percent from the field with 11 assists on 15 made field goals — then yeah, sure. Continue to Article

March 31, 2017 2:56:am EST

Denver suffered a crushing blow to its playoff hopes when the red-hot Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Nuggets 122-113 on Wednesday to take over sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with less than 10 games to go. The 7-foot center scored a career-high 33 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked three shots as Portland claimed its 12th win in 15 outings. Denver now stands one game back of the coveted final spot. Continue to Article

March 31, 2017 2:03:am EST

Damian Lillard had 31 points and 11 assists, leading the Portland Trail Blazers past the Houston Rockets 117-107 on Thursday night. Jusuf Nurkic had a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with 19 points for the Trail Blazers, who have a season-high five-game winning streak and a 1 1/2-game lead over the Denver Nuggets for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. James Harden finished with 30 points and eight rebounds to lead the Rockets. Continue to Article

March 31, 2017 1:26:am EST

Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has always constructed his teams with the knowledge that the three-pointer holds mathematical supremacy over twos, and the 2016-17 version of the Rockets is his masterpiece. With first-year head coach Mike D’Antoni promoting a faster pace and newcomers like Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson next to holdovers such as James Harden, the Rockets have pushed the three-pointer past its historical limits and into a new era. Most NBA teams now understand why it’s useful to structure an offense around the perimeter, but only the Rockets take it to these extremes. Continue to Article

March 31, 2017 12:17:am EST

Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has always constructed his teams with the knowledge that the three-pointer holds mathematical supremacy over twos, and the 2016-17 version of the Rockets is his masterpiece. With first-year head coach Mike D’Antoni promoting a faster pace and newcomers like Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson next to holdovers such as James Harden, the Rockets have pushed the three-pointer past its historical limits and into a new era. Most NBA teams now understand why it’s useful to structure an offense around the perimeter, but only the Rockets take it to these extremes. Continue to Article

March 31, 2017 12:17:am EST