SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 D3
Entering Saturday’s games.
SCORING GFGFTPTS.AVG.
Embiid, PHI ......................... 43411 3831260 29.3
Antetokounmpo, MIL ......... 47466 3751361 29.0
Young, ATL ......................... 50468 3001382 27.6
DeRozan, CHI ...................... 52522 3541431 27.5
Doncic, DAL ......................... 41391 2081097 26.8
Morant, MEM ..................... 44437 2211163 26.4
Jokic, DEN ........................... 49483 2191263 25.8
Curry, GS ............................. 51424 2221311 25.7
Booker, PHO ....................... 48445 2071224 25.5
Tatum, BOS ........................ 53471 2651351 25.5
Mitchell, UTA ...................... 44404 1661117 25.4
LaVine, CHI ......................... 47411 1991156 24.6
Towns, MIN ........................ 49427 2341191 24.3
Brown, BOS ........................ 43370 1631015 23.6
Beal, WAS ........................... 40348 169 928 23.2
Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC ... 433 34 241 976 22.7
Ingram, NO ......................... 41339 189 931 22.7
Harden, BKN ....................... 44292 304 990 22.5
Edwards, MIN ..................... 50399 1541107 22.1
Siakam, TOR ....................... 41342 165 894 21.8
VanVleet, TOR .................... 48350 1441035 21.6
Fox, SAC .............................. 45359 197 960 21.3
Herro, MIA .......................... 45336 117 905 20.1
Ball, CHA ............................. 50358 1521001 20.0
Bridges, CHA ....................... 55410 1761096 19.9
Garland, CLE ....................... 45342 98 896 19.9
Murray, SA .......................... 49400 104 968 19.8
Middleton, MIL ................... 45300 173 878 19.5
Randle, NY .......................... 54377 1991041 19.3
Harris, PHI .......................... 46341 140 878 19.1
Russell, MIN ....................... 42276 120 798 19.0
FIELD GOALS FG FGA PCT.
Williams, BOS ............................... 203 278 .730
Gobert, UTA .................................. 237 335 .707
Allen, CLE ...................................... 318 477 .667
McGee, PHO .................................. 210 319 .658
Harrell, WAS ................................. 247 383 .645
Ayton, PHO ................................... 243 378 .643
Poeltl, SA ...................................... 271 442 .613
Capela, ATL ................................... 231 394 .586
Sabonis, IND ................................. 331 571 .580
Jokic, DEN ..................................... 483 840 .575
Aldridge, BKN ................................ 207 373 .555
Antetokounmpo, MIL .................... 466 862 .541
Collins, ATL ................................... 325 605 .537
Davis, L.A.L. .................................. 329 613 .537
Nurkic, POR ................................... 297 557 .533
Valanciunas, NO ............................ 338 636 .531
James, L.A.L. ................................. 430 818 .526
Bridges, PHO ................................. 288 549 .525
Towns, MIN ................................... 427 815 .524
Adebayo, MIA ............................... 218 417 .523
Durant, BKN .................................. 379 729 .520
Gordon, DEN .................................. 285 548 .520
DeRozan, CHI ................................ 522 1019 .512
Turner, IND .................................... 200 393 .509
Carter, ORL .................................... 252 499 .505
Holiday, MIL .................................. 315 624 .505
Brunson, DAL ................................ 353 702 .503
Diallo, DET ..................................... 227 454 .500
Tate, HOU ...................................... 256 512 .500
THREE-POINTERS 3FG 3FGA PCT.
Tucker, MIA ..................................... 70150 .467
Johnson, SA .................................. 102 233 .438
Johnson, PHO ................................ 130 300 .433
McDermott, SA ............................... 90208 .433
Williams, BOS ................................. 77178 .433
Kennard, L.A.C. ............................. 125 290 .431
Muscala, OKC .................................. 70163 .429
Gordon, HOU ................................. 100 234 .427
Ball, CHI ......................................... 110 260 .423
Conley, UTA ................................... 123 291 .423
Mills, BKN ..................................... 174 412 .422
Portis, MIL ...................................... 95225 .422
Forbes, SA ....................................... 63151 .417
Wiggins, GS .................................. 116 279 .416
Haliburton, SAC ............................ 104 252 .413
Bane, MEM .................................... 149 362 .412
Barnes, SAC .................................. 106 257 .412
Batum, L.A.C. .................................. 70171 .409
Strus, MIA ..................................... 118 289 .408
Connaughton, MIL ......................... 125 307 .407
O'Neale, UTA ................................... 79194 .407
Powell, POR ..................................... 93229 .406
Towns, MIN ................................... 103 254 .406
Monk, L.A.L. .................................. 114 283 .403
Trent, TOR ..................................... 145 360 .403
Fournier, NY .................................. 159 396 .402
Holiday, MIL .................................... 80199 .402
Curry, PHI ...................................... 100 250 .400
Maxey, PHI ...................................... 68170 .400
FREE THROWS FT FTA PCT.
Poole, GS ....................................... 144 156 .923
Gallinari, ATL ................................ 101 110 .918
Curry, GS ....................................... 222 243 .914
Quickley, NY .................................... 839 1. 912
Garland, CLE .................................... 98108 .907
Young, ATL .................................... 300 335 .896
Butler, MIA ................................... 261 292 .894
Durant, BKN .................................. 228 255 .894
Bane, MEM ...................................... 839 3. 892
Middleton, MIL .............................. 173 196 .883
George, L.A.C. ............................... 103 117 .880
Lillard, POR ................................... 159 181 .878
Mitchell, UTA ................................ 166 190 .874
Ross, ORL ........................................ 97111 .874
Herro, MIA .................................... 117 134 .873
VanVleet, TOR .............................. 144 165 .873
Harden, BKN .................................. 304 350 .869
LaVine, CHI .................................... 199 229 .869
White, SA ...................................... 139 160 .869
Bogdanovic, UTA ........................... 177 204 .868
Maxey, PHI .................................... 132 152 .868
Porzingis, DAL ............................... 147 170 .865
Ball, CHA ....................................... 152 176 .864
Brogdon, IND ................................. 105 122 .861
DeRozan, CHI ................................ 354 411 .861
Booker, PHO .................................. 207 241 .859
REBOUNDS GOFF.DEF.TOT.AVG.
Gobert, UTA ...................... 42154 479 633 15.07
Jokic, DEN ......................... 49133 538 671 13.69
Capela, ATL ....................... 47180 390 570 12.13
Sabonis, IND ..................... 47155 412 567 12.06
Vucevic, CHI ...................... 4998470 568 11.59
Valanciunas, NO ............... 49163 404 567 11.57
Allen, CLE .......................... 48176 363 539 11.23
Antetokounmpo, MIL ....... 4786440 526 11.19
Embiid, PHI ....................... 4388389 477 11.09
Nurkic, POR ....................... 53154 421 575 10.85
Wood, HOU ....................... 5291443 534 10.27
Carter, ORL ....................... 4898389 487 10.15
Randle, NY ........................ 54101 442 543 10.06
Williams, BOS ................... 46179 264 443 9.63
Adams, MEM .................... 53234 273 507 9.57
Towns, MIN ....................... 49138 328 466 9.51
Portis, MIL ........................ 48124 311 435 9.06
Poeltl, SA .......................... 46178 234 412 8.96
Doncic, DAL ....................... 4136328 364 8.88
Vanderbilt, MIN ................ 51159 294 453 8.88
Drummond, PHI ................ 49136 297 433 8.84
Robinson, NY .................... 50194 245 439 8.78
Kuzma, WAS ..................... 5157389 446 8.75
Siakam, TOR ..................... 4186271 357 8.71
Stewart, DET .................... 48146 260 406 8.46
ASSISTS GAST. AVG.
Paul, PHO ........................................ 55584 10.6
Harden, BKN .................................... 44447 10.2
Young, ATL ...................................... 50468 9.4
Murray, SA ...................................... 49455 9.3
Doncic, DAL ..................................... 41373 9.1
Garland, CLE .................................... 45365 8.1
Lowry, MIA ...................................... 43349 8.1
Jokic, DEN ....................................... 49389 7.9
Ball, CHA ......................................... 50378 7.6
Westbrook, L.A.L. ........................... 55419 7.6
Haliburton, SAC .............................. 51379 7.4
VanVleet, TOR ................................ 48341 7.1
Russell, MIN .................................... 42291 6.9
Morant, MEM .................................. 44299 6.8
Beal, WAS ....................................... 40265 6.6
Holiday, MIL .................................... 44292 6.6
Curry, GS ......................................... 51326 6.4
Anthony, ORL .................................. 43262 6.1
Giddey, OKC .................................... 50307 6.1
Antetokounmpo, MIL ...................... 47283 6.0
Dinwiddie, WAS .............................. 44256 5.8
STEALS GSTL. AVG.
Murray, SA ...................................... 49101 2.06
Trent, TOR ....................................... 45881 .96
Smart, BOS ..................................... 48911 .90
Paul, PHO ........................................ 55103 1.87
Thybulle, PHI ................................... 40711 .78
Haliburton, SAC .............................. 51861 .69
VanVleet, TOR ................................ 48801 .67
Anunoby, TOR ................................. 39631 .62
Ball, CHA ......................................... 50811 .62
Mitchell, UTA .................................. 44711 .61
Melton, MEM .................................. 48771 .60
Covington, POR ............................... 48741 .54
Vanderbilt, MIN .............................. 51781 .53
Jones, NO ........................................ 52781 .50
Edwards, MIN ................................. 50741 .48
Holiday, MIL .................................... 44651 .48
Curry, GS ......................................... 51731 .43
Okeke, ORL ...................................... 46651 .41
Jokic, DEN ....................................... 49681 .39
Payton, GS ...................................... 53711 .34
Cunningham, DET ........................... 42561 .33
Martin, CHA .................................... 49631 .29
O'Neale, UTA ................................... 52671 .29
BLOCKS GBLK. AVG.
Turner, IND ...................................... 42118 2.81
Gobert, UTA .................................... 42952 .26
Williams, BOS ................................. 46102 2.22
Jackson, MEM ................................. 56123 2.20
Bamba, ORL .................................... 46891 .93
Poeltl, SA ........................................ 46811 .76
Mobley, CLE .................................... 48811 .69
Robinson, NY ................................... 50781 .56
Gafford, WAS .................................. 48741 .54
Embiid, PHI ..................................... 43651 .51
Whiteside, UTA ............................... 44661 .50
Antetokounmpo, MIL ...................... 47671 .43
Allen, CLE ........................................ 48651 .35
Capela, ATL ..................................... 47631 .34
Horford, BOS ................................... 48641 .33
Covington, POR ............................... 48631 .31
Vucevic, CHI .................................... 49581 .18
Stewart, DET .................................. 48561 .17
Towns, MIN ..................................... 49571 .16
Bazley, OKC ..................................... 50561 .12
Thybulle, PHI ................................... 40441 .10
Collins, ATL ..................................... 50541 .08
Clarke, MEM .................................... 42451 .07
Hartenstein, L.A.C. ......................... 43461 .07NBA LEADERSprofessional BasketballASSOCIATED PRESSKlay Thompson scored 16 of his
season-high 33 points in the
fourth quarter, Stephen Curry
made a clutch layup with 46 sec-
onds remaining, and the Golden
State Warriors held off the Los
Angeles Lakers, 117-115, on Satur-
day night in San Francisco, spoil-
ing another scoring milestone by
LeBron James.
Curry finished with 24 points
and eight assists and Andrew Wig-
gins scored 19 points to help the
Warriors end a two-game losing
streak. Golden State has not lost
three in a row all season.
James had 26 points, 15 re-
bounds and eight assists, but he
missed a key free throw with
2.4 seconds left. Earlier in the
night, James extended his streak
of 25 points or more to 22 games
and passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
for most points scored in the NBA
combining the regular season and
postseason (44,157).
l 76ERS 103, CAVALIERS 93:
Joel Embiid had a triple-double of
40 points, 14 rebounds and 10 as-
sists along with a highlight-reel
jam for host Philadelphia.
Tyrese Maxey added 16 points
for the 76ers, who have won both
games since Thursday’s block-
buster trade that sent disgruntled
Ben Simmons to Brooklyn for
James Harden.
Harden arrived in Philadelphia
on Saturday but was not present at
the arena for the game.
l HEAT 115, NETS 111: Bam
Adebayo had 19 points and 14 re-
bounds, and Miami held off a furi-ous rally from Kyrie Irving and
visiting Brooklyn. Irving scored 20
of his 29 points in the fourth quar-
ter to help the Nets rally from a
21-point, third-quarter deficit be-
fore dropping their 11th straight
game.
Kevin Durant took a significant
first step in hopes of rejoining
Brooklyn after hurting his left
knee three weeks ago. The former
league MVP recently began light
court workouts and traveled with
the team to Miami.
l NUGGETS 110, RAPTORS
109: Rookie guard Bones Hyland
made a tiebreaking three-pointer
with 2:16 to play, and Denver won
at Toronto, ending the Raptors’
winning streak at eight.
Nikola Jokic had 28 points and
15 rebounds for the Nuggets.
Pascal Siakam scored a season-
high 35 points and had 10 re-
bounds, but the Raptors lost for thefirst time since Jan. 26 at Chicago.
l GRIZZLIES 125, HORNETS
118: Ja Morant scored 26 points,
Desmond Bane added 25, and
Memphis held off host Charlotte
for its fifth straight win.
Terry Rozier had 35 points and
10 rebounds for the Hornets, who
trailed by 35 before they cut the
lead to four late in the fourth
quarter.
l CLIPPERS 99, MAVER-
ICKS 97: Reggie Jackson scored
24 points, and Los Angeles held off
host Dallas in the final minute to
earn another split in another two-
game set between the teams.
Luka Doncic had 23 of his
45 points in the fourth quarter two
nights after he scored a career-
high 51 points in Dallas’s 112-105
win.
l SUNS 132, MAGIC 105:
Devin Booker scored 26 points
and Deandre Ayton had 17 pointsand 10 rebounds as host Phoenix
Suns won its fifth straight game.
Chris Paul recorded his
30th double-double of the season
with 10 points and 15 assists, and
the Suns had nine players score in
double figures.
l TRAIL BLAZERS 112,
KNICKS 103: Anfernee Simons
had 30 points and eight assists,
and Portland erased a 2 3-point,
third-quarter deficit to win at
home.
l BULLS 106, THUNDER 101:
DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points,
Nikola Vucevic added 31 points
and 15 rebounds, and Chicago
overcame a sluggish start to win at
home.
l SPURS 124, PELICANS 114:
Dejounte Murray had 31 points
and 12 rebounds, and San Antonio
beat New Orleans to give the Spurs
consecutive double-digit, wire-to-
wire victories on the road.NBA ROUNDUP
Thompson looks like his old self as Golden State slips by L.A.
WARRIORS 117,
LAKERS 115Thursday’s NBA trade deadline
featured a series of minor tremors
that barely registered and one
blockbuster that shattered the
Richter scale.
The Brooklyn Nets’ trade of
James Harden to the Philadelphia
76ers for Ben Simmons recalled the Boston
Celtics’ swap of Isaiah Thomas to the Cleveland
Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving in 2017. Both trades
involved Eastern Conference rivals with
championship aspirations, big-name centerpieces
and well-known executives, and both created
massive ripple effects for A-list teammates such
as Kevin Durant and LeBron James.
But the Nets and 76ers were dealing with
higher-profile and more scrutinized players, and
they didn’t have the benefit of marinating on the
proposals during the offseason. With little more
than two months to go before the playoffs, the
Nets and 76ers reshaped their cores on the fly in
hopes of gaining an edge in the bunched-up
conference standings.
Here’s a look at the winners and losers from
the biggest trade deadline deal in at least a
decade, plus a quick roundup of Thursday’s other
off-court action.Winner: 76ers President Daryl Morey
No executive was under greater pressure to
make a deal than Morey, and none faced a trickier
predicament than Philadelphia’s stalemate with
Simmons. For months, Morey had bet adopting a
patient approach would pay off with a big fish
and that settling for non-stars in return would be
a mistake. Countless rumors came and went, but
Morey emerged Thursday with Harden, a former
MVP and three-time scoring champion around
whom he built high-level contenders for nearly a
decade with the Houston Rockets.
Under the circumstances, swapping the
burned bridge with Simmons for a Harden life
raft was a no-brainer, even if the deal also cost
Philadelphia an elite shooter in Seth Curry,
backup center Andre Drummond and two first-
round picks. In the short term, Harden elevates
the 76ers title hopes and alleviates strain on
franchise center Joel Embiid.
Whether this deal is good for Morey or good
for the 76ers will be determined by the size of
Harden’s next contract, which could reach up to
$270 million over five years. The 32-year-old
Harden’s efficiency and athleticism have shown
signs of deterioration, and his next contract has
the potential to ruin Philadelphia’s cap flexibility
for years if he can’t play at an all-NBA form.
Those concerns can wait until the offseason. For
now, Morey should savor his high-stakes Houdini
act.Loser: Kevin Durant
Durant put on a brave face during his
Thursday appearance on TNT for the NBA all-star
draft, welcoming Simmons, Curry and
Drummond to Brooklyn and saying that
“everybody got what they wanted.”
Morey got what he wanted. Harden, upset with
his heavy workload and Kyrie Irving’s part-time
availability because of his unvaccinated status,
got what he wanted. Philadelphia’s fans certainly
got what they wanted with Simmons’s departure.
And both Simmons and his agent, Rich Paul of
Klutch Sports, got what they wanted with a fresh
start in a desirable market following an endless
and costly holdout.
It’s exceedingly hard to argue, though, that
Durant got what he wanted or anything close to
what he should have expected after he signed
with the Nets in 2019 and they added Harden in- Brooklyn’s vision was to craft a superstar-
friendly culture that would sit atop the East
throughout Durant’s late-prime and attract a new
round of ring-chasers every year.
Durant instead found himself as the only
reliable piece within a house of cards this season.
With Durant, who was playing at an MVP level
until he suffered a knee sprain in mid-January,
the Nets scraped out more than enough wins to
make up for Irving’s absences. Without Durant,
they have lost 10 straight games and just
acquiesced to Harden’s desire to jump ship. To
make matters worse, Durant will bear the burden
of the fallout, needing to find a way to make it
work with Irving and Simmons, two of the
league’s most unreliable personalities.
Winner: Harden
Harden appeared to learn some lessons from his
messy exit from Houston. This time around, he
kept a lower-profile, didn’t vent at a newsconference and made his feelings known through
back channels. While critics will correctly point
out that he has quit on two teams in 13 months,
he probably will get off easier because the Nets
aren’t left in total disarray like the Rockets.
Image seems to matter less to Harden than his
role, his title chances and his earning potential.
In Philadelphia, he will enter his latest superstar
marriage with Embiid, play in a more stable
environment for the balance of this season and
enter negotiations this summer with Morey, who
happens to be his No. 1 fan. Expect a satisfied
Harden to enjoy a post-trade bump with the 76ers
just as he did with the Nets last year.Loser: Harden
There are real complications to Harden’s latest
move. The 76ers are and always will be Embiid’s
team, a dynamic that could pose challenging to
Harden, who grew accustomed to life as
Houston’s face and never found an ideal balance
in Brooklyn.
Harden also has fallen out with a long list of
stars — including Dwight Howard, Chris Paul,
Russell Westbrook and Irving — and has typically
preferred playing with centers who are mobile
pick-and-roll targets.
There is an accumulative, negative effect to
Harden’s recent actions: The more he changes
teams and the more he doesn’t get along with
teammates, the more it looks like he’s a central
part of the problem. Those narratives could have
changed if he had stayed healthy in last year’s
playoffs and Brooklyn had capitalized on an
excellent shot to win the title, but he didn’t and
they didn’t. If Harden doesn’t get over the hump
in Philadelphia, he won’t be given the benefit of
the doubt.Winners: Klutch Sports
After helping Anthony Davis force his way
from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Los Angeles
Lakers, Paul successfully extricated Simmons
from Philadelphia with more than three years
remaining on his five-year, $170 million max
contract. In so doing, Klutch set an aggressive
precedent for high-level players who want a
change of scenery. Why wait until free agency?
Why wait until they are entering the final year of
their deal? Why wait, ever, if Simmons can stay
home for five months, pay some fines and
immediately land on a big-market contender?
The lesson to other players is that Klutch gets
the job done. The pressure to other teams is that
Klutch won’t blink in a stare down. And the
lesson to NBA owners is that they better have a
clear understanding of how happy their best
players are at every given moment.Loser: Kyrie Irving
Irving, not Harden or Simmons, will be the
leading scapegoat should Brooklyn’s title hopes
fail to materialize. His decision not to get
vaccinated set the tone for the Nets’ season,
increased Harden’s nightly burden, disrupted histeam’s chemistry and lineup continuity and
fundamentally changed the professional
dynamics for Brooklyn’s superstar trio.
Part of the appeal of playing with Durant
should have been the opportunity for Irving to
rewrite his reputation after his fallout with James
in Cleveland and his botched attempt to lead the
Boston Celtics. Yet it’s the same old story: Irving’s
enigmatic personality steps all over his
scintillating talent.Winners: Milwaukee Bucks
At first blush, Milwaukee’s position as
defending champions took a pair of hits:
Philadelphia added talent by landing Harden,
and Brooklyn improved its depth and defense
with its return package. If the past two seasons
are any guide, though, winning a title during the
pandemic will require excellent chemistry and
continuity. On those counts, Milwaukee hold
clear edges.
The Bucks, who have been rounding into form
in recent weeks, added veteran center Serge
Ibaka in a minor deadline move that addressed
their biggest positional weakness. As Brooklyn
and Philadelphia get to know each other,
Milwaukee will be cruising right along with its
reliable core trio of Giannis Antetokounmpo,
Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday.Losers: Washington Wizards
Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard has proved
adept at making trades — moving on from John
Wall and flipping Westbrook — but his free
agency work has left a lot to be desired. There
should be no excitement that Washington traded
the bad contracts belonging to Spencer
Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans on Thursday
because both deals were central parts of
Sheppard’s work over the past two offseasons.
What’s more, the Wizards had to swallow another
bad contract in Kristaps Porzingis, who struggled
to score efficiently, move defensively and stay
healthy during his three seasons in Dallas.
Ending the Bertans era as quickly as possible was
advisable, but this trade isn’t the kind of
meaningful progress that Bradley Beal or any
Wizards fan wanted to see.Losers: Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers were reminded of the folly of their
offseason trade for Westbrook when they couldn’t
gain any real traction in trades. With Westbrook’s
value cratering and so few other movable assets,
Los Angeles (26-30) seems resigned to its lot in
the middle of the West’s standings. James came
close to admitting as much this week,
acknowledging that the Lakers aren’t on the
Bucks’ level after a blowout loss Tuesday and
then noting that a trade deadline “fog” was
hanging over his team Wednesday. Coach Frank
Vogel, who has faced serious questions about his
job security since December, would have really
benefited from a move of any kind. Alas, his
personal fog will continue.By acquiring Harden, 76ers were big winners at deadlineTHEARON W. HENDERSON/GETTY IMAGES
James Harden changed teams for the second time in two seasons with his trade to Philadelphia.On
the NBA
BEN
GOLLIVER