Trump's election helping his Criminal Cases

 

Since the end of the previous season, the Kings have been waiting for their chance to face off their cruel, pestering, overbearing older brothers from Northern California, the Warriors.

Malik Monk squared up Andrew Wiggins with ten seconds remaining on Tuesday night, trying to find a way around him. The Kings won 124–123 when Monk got himself right inside the free throw line, off-balance, and shoved the ball up with one hand before banking it in. Their victory guaranteed them a spot in the NBA in-season tournament quarterfinals. However, the Kings were more concerned with finally defeating the club that had defeated them so frequently in the past than with that.

Our goal is to triumph. Naturally, our supporters want us to defeat Golden State, said to De'Aaron Fox. Whether it's a tournament game or not, you want to win a game this tight, especially after behind 24 to 1.

It was evident halfway through the first quarter that the Warriors needed to win by 12 points or more in order to move to the quarterfinals, as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder. If the Kings win or the game is lost by 11 points or less, Sacramento would be done for.

The Warriors launched their first offensive surge shortly after Minnesota's triumph, extending their lead to 24 points halfway through the second quarter.

Despite allowing the Kings to go on runs, Golden State was able to contain them. The Kings cut their deficit from 24 to 17 with a 7-0 run to end the first half. In the latter moments of the third quarter, they managed to surpass the 12-point mark. 

The Kings then started to press in the fourth quarter.

Two events proved to be game-changers for the Kings in the fourth quarter. There were two: one for the coaching staff and one for the players.

It was when Monk told the coaches to just let the game go and to stop complaining to the officials play out. 

For the players, Warriors forward Draymond Green, who was just out of a five-game suspension, was called for a technical foul three minutes into the fourth quarter for arguing with the officials—a call he appeared to be pursuing.

Green purposefully fouled on the next play, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr took him out of the game right away to prevent things from getting out of hand.

Monk stated, "That was definitely the momentum we needed with them slipping up right there." We had been told to stick with it the entire game by [Coach Mike Brown]. that something would undoubtedly occur.

After the first bucket, the Kings embarked on an 11-3 run to grab the lead. It was a dog fight from there, the kind that happens so frequently between brothers.

Sacramento stepped up its defense, snatching the ball away from the 29-point scorer Stephen Curry and forcing Wiggins and Klay Thompson, who finished with 29 and 20 points respectively, to settle down.

After receiving their beloved Green back from suspension, the Warriors players appeared overwhelmed at having to play without him once more. 

Moses Moody was the only one who seemed calm. Of the Warriors' first 12 points in the fourth quarter, 11 came from Moody. But he was taken out of the game too late. Kerr explained that decision was because Golden State needed Wiggins' defensive and Thompson's seasoned offensive, particularly on Fox.

Fox finished the game with 29 points on 9 of 20 shooting, nine rebounds, seven assists, and two steals after scoring just nine points in the first half.

Fox claimed that although the Warriors didn't exactly upend him defensively in the second half, he was able to get going because of his concentration on attacking the rim. In the contest, he made just two 3-pointers.

He and the Kings could not be defeated by anything the Warriors or the Kings hurled at them. Curry stated that it will be difficult to accept the fact that we ought to have won the game. We were tremendously motivated since we knew we had been on a losing streak and we played well enough to win for forty minutes. When you cross the finish line, you come up short. It's aggravating and a hard pill to take. It was our turn to face the mirror.

With 37 seconds remaining, after Monk made a 25-foot step-back to get the Kings within one, Green mishandled a pass meant for Thompson.

Brown's first goal was to test his team's ability to quickly identify a potential winning opportunity. 

According to Brown, the more chaotic things were, the better off we seemed. Our team were figuring out how to answer. It was giving them vitality in the midst of the pandemonium. 

But in the end, Brown called a timeout. However, he did not choose the winning play for any one player. Rather, his advice was to take the shot with whoever looked the greatest. It turned out to be Monk.

Monk stated he should have called the game, but he didn't. After enduring innumerable "night night" moments at the hands of Curry and the Warriors, the Kings were eager to relish their victory since it meant they had finally overcome the mental obstacle of defeating an opponent.

However, the Kings are well aware that this victory, rewarding though it may be, only represents a small portion of their total objectives for the remainder of the regular season, the postseason, and the in-season tournament.

Fox stated, "We want to travel to Vegas and be among the first teams to make it to the in-season tournament final four." 

The NBA's in-season tournament field for the knockout round is determined after a month of group stage games.

On Monday night at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Indiana Pacers will play host to the Boston Celtics. At ten, the New Orleans Pelicans will travel to take on the Sacramento Kings. Two group stage rematches are scheduled for Tuesday night: the New York Knicks against the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30 and the visiting Phoenix Suns at the Los Angeles Lakers at 10 p.m.

The teams from the Eastern and Western conferences will play at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively, on December 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the victors of each of those quarterfinal games moving on to the semifinals. The NBA Cup will be lifted for the first time by the victor of the event, who will also receive a $500,000 prize for every player on its roster -- will take place at 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 9 (ABC). 

A surprising twist is that all four quarterfinal meetings are previously scheduled four times this season; therefore, all five matchups will be played, which is one more than clubs can normally play in a season.

The teams that lost in the quarterfinals will play each other on December 8, while the 22 teams that were eliminated will play one home game and one away game on December 6 and 7.

Early on Wednesday morning, the NBA announced the schedule for the remaining 22 teams, which featured a few highly anticipated games. At 7:30 p.m. on December 6 on ESPN, the Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs—which include two of the league's brightest young talents, Victor Wembanyama and a matchup between Wembanyama and fellow French player Rudy Gobert—will play. The Denver Nuggets will then play the LA Clippers in a rematch of Denver's incredible victory on Sunday, which came without Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, or Jamal Murray.

The Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets on December 6, the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat, and the Golden State Warriors vs. Thunder on December 8 are a few more standout matchups on the schedule.

HOUSTON -- According to insiders who spoke with the media, the Adelson family has advanced talks about acquiring a sizeable stake in the Dallas Mavericks.

According to insiders, Mark Cuban would continue to be the team's governor and make all basketball-related decisions. 

The Associated Press reported, citing a person with knowledge of the talks, that the agreement would be in the ballpark of a $3.5 billion valuation and require weeks for the league to process.

In accordance with a legally binding purchase agreement, and pending usual league approvals, the Adelson family is selling nearly $2 billion in stock in the Las Vegas Sands Corp. to finance the acquisition of a majority stake in a professional sports team.

The Miriam Adelson Trust and medical professional Miriam Adelson, the widow of casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson, were named as sellers in the application; however, no team, league, or location was mentioned.

Based on the $3.5 billion valuation, the Adelson family may be acquiring at least 57% of the NBA franchise if the full $2 billion is used for the acquisition.

The NBA's board of governors must next give its permission after a screening procedure that usually takes several weeks for new owners. 

A new Mavericks arena would be part of a casino entertainment area that would be built in Dallas. This idea has previously been discussed by Cuban and the Sands group, which is headed by Miriam Adelson and her son-in-law and business president, Patrick Dumont. According to those ideas, Texas would need to legalize gambling, which Cuban has pushed state lawmakers to do.

The Mavs are controlled by Cuban, 65, who paid $285 million for the majority of the team in 2000. He recently declared that he would be departing the well-liked business TV show "Shark Tank" after its 16th season in 2019.

The Adelson family's plan to buy a stake in the Mavericks was initially revealed by NBA reporter Marc Stein.

NEW YORK After Charlotte had its anticipated starting lineup available for the first time in the coach's tenure on Sunday, Steve Clifford described the news that Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball will likely miss several weeks due to a right ankle strain "frustrating."

Clifford stated, "Obviously it's frustrating," prior to the Knicks game on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, which was the last game for both clubs in the regular season tournament group round. "We had not played a game when that was the expected starting lineup for the previous two years, so it was essentially the team I assumed I would be coaching until the other night. And when he got hurt, we had about twenty-three minutes left.

But this is an NBA component. As I informed the squad, we must have hope that things will turn around and we'll get him, Nick Richards, Cody Martin, and Frank [Ntilikina] back. Only then can we look forward to a period of time when we'll have our entire team available. Because I believe we may be extremely good when we do and we become a little bit more structured. 

Ball was hurt after he landed hard on his ankle during a drive into the paint early in the second quarter of Charlotte's game against the Orlando Magic on Sunday. He eventually needed assistance getting off the court after remaining down for a while. In the upcoming days, a more firm return date for Ball is anticipated to be revealed.

Ball's absence will allow guard Terry Rozier, who missed his first three weeks of action due to a groin ailment, to play a larger role. In his 37 minutes against the Magic, Rozier finished with 22 points and 9 assists. Clifford stated that Rozier's contribution will help offset Ball's absence.

Clifford remarked, "That helps a lot," about Rozier's comeback. Then, we'll immediately return to the action, with larger roles for Bryce [McGowens], JT [Thor], and Ish [Smith]. Ball, 22, underwent surgery on the same ankle the previous season, which contributed to his 33-game 2022–23 season-long limitation. Ball is averaging a career-high 24.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 1.4 steals per game throughout his first 15 games this season. 

The NBA's first-ever in-season competition has advanced to the knockout stages, where a single team will win the NBA Cup and its players will get a $500,000 salary each.

Eight teams—the Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics, and New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference, and the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, and Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference—have advanced to the quarterfinals after all 30 teams were divided into six groups and played four group stage games throughout November in the Western Conference. 

On Monday night, the Pelicans play the Kings in Sacramento, while the Pacers host the Celtics. The Bucks and Knicks will play at home on Tuesday, while the Suns will play in Los Angeles. These games are rematches from the group stage.

The victorious team will on to the semifinals at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on December 7 and then to the title game on December 9.

So what is the NBA Cup exactly? How is the competition going to operate? Why is that taking place? What does the NBA hope to gain from this?

Quarterfinal action is set up by a dramatic final day of group stage action.

NEW YORK - The in-season tournament's final day of group stage play lived up to the NBA's expectations in every way.

The standings were always shifting during the evening as all eight of Tuesday's games had an impact on which teams would move on to the quarterfinals.

By night's end, the bracket was decided.

The Eastern Conference's five games began at the same time, yet the Bucks didn't secure the top spot until the very last buzzer of the slate, when they defeated the Miami Heat 131-124 to win Group B. 

Even after teams had won their games, it was still uncertain as the evening went on how things would turn out. For example, the Knicks were informed that they were headed to Milwaukee as a wild card only 30 minutes after they destroyed the Charlotte Hornets 115-91.

When asked if the different tiebreaker options confused him as much as they confused many of the people who were watching, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau responded, "It's met its intended purpose," grinning.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls were defeated 124-97 by the Celtics, who went on to win East Group C. Indiana, who won East Group A, will now go to Boston to face them. Indiana has already completed its tournament program.

The Brooklyn Nets' victory over the Toronto Raptors, 115-103, ultimately proved to be the most significant game of the evening in the East, as it eliminated the Celtics from contention. The Orlando Magic, who defeated the Boston Celtics at home on Friday, would have won the group if Toronto had prevailed in that game.

However, the C's prevailed in the three-way tie with Orlando and Brooklyn by having the best point differential due to Boston's significant victory over the Bulls.

Consequently, the Magic, who had finished their group stage play the previous week, were eliminated.It was much simpler out in the West, but it didn't take away from its allure. 

A victory over the Dallas Mavericks would have given the Houston Rockets the opportunity to capture both West Group B and their first road win of the year. Rather, Mavs star Luka Doncic led Dallas to a 121-115 victory that eliminated Houston from the tournament with 41 points and nine assists.

That meant the Pelicans emerged victorious in the group, however they would have to wait a few more hours to learn who their opponent was.

In the meanwhile, despite defeating the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder 106-103, the Minnesota Timberwolves were eliminated. To advance, Minnesota had to win by a sizable margin. Its narrow victory guaranteed the Suns the wild-card slot and a date with the Kings or the Golden State Warriors to win the group with the Lakers. 

The Kings and Warriors' final game on Tuesday was left to set the stage. For Sacramento to advance, a loss of more than 12 points could not be sustained. However, the Kings rallied to win 124-123 thanks to a circus shot by Malik Monk in the final seconds after trailing by as much as 24 points in the first half and 17 at the half at home.

Kings player De'Aaron Fox stated on TNT's "Inside the NBA" that "we wanted to win the game after we were done with our [halftime] meeting, but some of our assistants let us know what the situation was."