Latest news with #KevinHuerter
New York Times
13-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
The Sacramento Kings' hard luck continues in NBA Draft Lottery
The NBA Draft Lottery is filled with a collection of what-ifs for the Sacramento Kings. As for luck in the lottery, it's been rare. The Kings have been in the lottery every year except one since 2007 and have only moved up from their position twice — in 2018 and 2022. Keegan Murray was the fourth pick in 2022. He hasn't become the star the team and fans hoped he'd be, but he's at least a rotation player in the NBA. Advertisement Don't even mention 2018 in Sacramento. The Kings drafted Marvin Bagley III second ahead of Luka Dončić, who was selected third by the Atlanta Hawks and then traded to the Dallas Mavericks. It was a move that kept Sacramento mired in losing. What happened on Monday was like a cruel prank played on the franchise. The odds were against the Kings having a pick in the lottery this year. They needed to be in the top 12 to keep their pick, or it would go to the Atlanta Hawks from their summer 2022 deal that landed Kevin Huerter, who slumped after a good first season and was traded to thee Chicago Bulls this past February. Sacramento had only a 3.8 percent chance of moving into the top four and a 0.8 percent chance of picking first during Monday's lottery. Neither happened. Dallas, which finished 10th place in the Western Conference and a game behind the Kings in the standings, won the lottery. Dallas, which blew out the Kings in Sacramento in a Play-In Tournament game, had a 1.8 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick. The Mavericks are now in position to add Cooper Flagg to a team that already has Anthony Davis and will have Kyrie Irving returning from an ACL injury at some point next season. Making it worse, one of the only lottery picks the Kings have gotten right in nearly 20 years — De'Aaron Fox — was traded to San Antonio in February. The Spurs, who did not give up this year's draft pick in the deal, just saw their team get better. Fox already is teammates with the last two Rookie of the Year award recipients, Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle, and he soon will be joined by the No. 2 pick in the upcoming draft. We all knew that the Sacramento Kings probably wouldn't have a draft pick when we woke up this morning. This is arguably worst case scenario for the Kings. The team who they traded De'Aaron Fox to has the 2nd pick, and the Dallas Mavericks get the top pick with 1 less win. — Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) May 12, 2025 That doesn't even include Sacramento's 2020 lottery pick, Tyrese Haliburton, being on the verge of reaching the Eastern Conference finals again with the Indiana Pacers. Even Davion Mitchell, a 2021 Kings lottery pick, helped the Miami Heat make the playoffs. A little bit of luck would have gone a long way in Sacramento, which didn't bank on being in this position a couple of years ago. The Kings were the darlings of the NBA in 2023 after ending a 16-year playoff drought and finishing third in the Western Conference before losing in the first round to the Golden State Warriors in seven games. Advertisement Monte McNair, the 2023 NBA Executive of the Year, and Mike Brown, the 2023 Coach of the Year, are both gone. New general manager Scott Perry and coach Doug Christie are in their place after Christie had the interim tag removed following this season. Kings fans are a resilient bunch. They've stuck by the team during multiple relocation scares and an impressive list of future Hall of Famers passed on in the lottery. It started in 2009 with Tyreke Evans over Stephen Curry. Evans won Rookie of the Year, but he never became a star. Sacramento passed on Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard in 2011 for Jimmer Fredette. The Kings passed on Damian Lillard in 2012 in favor of Thomas Robinson. They drafted Ben McLemore in 2013 only to see Giannis Antetokounmpo selected eight picks later. Devin Booker would have made sense in 2015, but the Kings drafted a center, Willie Cauley-Stein, to go with their All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins. And they failed to build around Cousins, eventually trading him in 2017 after making him the fifth pick in 2010. Haliburton became an All-Star with the Pacers, but that seemed fine given the Kings got an All-Star in Domantas Sabonis in a 2022 trade. Sabonis is still with the Kings, but Sacramento is in transition — again. Christie is beloved in Sacramento. He was part of the city's best basketball with coach Rick Adelman, leading the program to multiple winning records as a player and within a game of the NBA Finals in 2002. But it's harder to lean on nostalgia as nights like Monday have piled up for nearly two decades. It was another evening of bad luck, which has become the norm for Sacramento in the lottery.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
3 takeaways as the Chicago Bulls clinch a play-in tournament spot with a 137-118 win at home
Playoff hopes are alive and well in Chicago. The Bulls punched their ticket to a third consecutive play-in tournament on Tuesday with a 137-118 win over the Toronto Raptors, snapping a two-game losing streak to improve their home record to 15-23 at the United Center. Advertisement Scoring came easily against the Raptors defense. The Bulls tallied 102 points in the first three quarters. Four different Bulls players finished with 20 or more points as Coby White led scoring with 28 points and Nikola Vučević added 22 points. The Raptors have not been actively seeking a spot in the Eastern Conference postseason, a trend they continued by resting RJ Barrett and Ochai Agbaji in Chicago. That lack of effort was reflected in their strategy Tuesday, which included playing Scottie Barnes for fewer than two minutes in the fourth quarter. Here are three takeaways from the win. 1. Kevin Huerter stormed back into the starting rotation. After missing Monday's game with a thumb injury, Kevin Huerter returned to the starting lineup and reignited his scoring as a crucial addition to the team's central trio of White, Josh Giddey and Vučević. Huerter rattled off 16 points in another night of solid scoring as the guard continues to improve within the pace of the Bulls offense. Advertisement Although the Bulls benefited from a prolific night of 3-point shooting, Huerter generated most of his offense from the floor. He threw down three dunks against Toronto, the most in any single game of his NBA career. His only misses of the night came from 3-point range, where he still shot 2-for-4. 2. Shooting fired up from deep. The Bulls have been streaky from behind the 3-point arc since they traded away Zach LaVine at the deadline in February, removing their most consistent shooter from the roster. While the Bulls maintained their 3-point shooting volume, they dropped to 36.2% from behind the arc since LaVine's last game with the team. Tuesday's win marked an important return to accuracy for the Bulls, who went 14-for-34 (41.2%) from behind the arc. The game opened with a flurry from long range as the Bulls went 7-for-10 from 3-point range in the opening quarter and 10-for-20 in the first half. Advertisement Coby White crept closer to breaking his record for the most 3-pointers in a single season (209) that he set last season, making three 3-pointers on Tuesday to increase his season total to 204. 3. The roster was limited due to injuries. The Bulls played with another limited roster on the second night of a home-and-away back-to-back after picking up a litany of injuries in Monday's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jevon Carter incurred an injury to the AC joint in his right shoulder, Dalen Terry was kicked in the right calf and Julian Phillips was hit in the right quadricep, aggravating an older contusion. Coach Billy Donovan said he does not expect any of these three injuries to be long-term problems. Advertisement Photos: Chicago Bulls defeat the Toronto Raptors 137-118 Lonzo Ball remained on the sidelines with a sprained right wrist, which has kept him out since the start of March. Ayo Dosunmu and Tre Jones are also out of the rotation for the Bulls due to extended injuries, severely limiting the backcourt on Tuesday. The lack of depth gave extended playing time to Talen Horton-Tucker, who finished with 27 points on 8-for-16 shooting off the bench. Playoff push With Tuesday's win, the Bulls made up ground on the Miami Heat to advance to the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference. They now trail the Heat by only half a game. Advertisement The Atlanta Hawks also lost on Tuesday, dropping behind the Orlando Magic to the eighth seed in the East. The Bulls are currently 2.5 games back from the Hawks and the Magic with six games remaining in the season — and a tiebreaker over Orlando and Miami.
USA Today
16-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Bulls vs. Heat NBA Play-In Tournament: How to watch online, live stream info, game time, TV channel
Bulls vs. Heat NBA Play-In Tournament: How to watch online, live stream info, game time, TV channel Nikola Vucevic's Chicago Bulls (39-43) and the Miami Heat (37-45) hit the court at United Center on Wednesday, April 16, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Bulls are coming off of a 122-102 win over the 76ers in their most recent game on Sunday. The Heat fell in their most recent outing 119-118 against the Wizards on Sunday. Kevin Huerter recorded 18 points, two rebounds and two assists for the Bulls. Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s team-leading 41 points paced the Heat in the losing effort. NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Wednesday at 7:59 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub. Watch the NBA on Fubo! Bulls vs. Heat game info Game day: Wednesday, April 16, 2025 Wednesday, April 16, 2025 Game time: 7:30 p.m. ET 7:30 p.m. ET Location: Chicago, Illinois Chicago, Illinois Arena: United Center United Center TV channel: ESPN ESPN Live stream: Watch LIVE with Fubo! Watch LIVE with Fubo! NBA League Pass: The most live games plus NBA TV. Sign up today Watch the NBA on NBA League Pass! Bulls vs. Heat betting info
Reuters
13-04-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Kevin Huerter helps Bulls roll past 76ers
April 13 - Kevin Huerter scored 18 points as the visiting Chicago Bulls topped the Philadelphia 76ers 122-102 on Sunday in the regular-season finale for both teams. Talen Horton-Tucker chipped in 17 points and Jalen Smith had 12 points and 10 boards for Chicago (39-43), which matched its win total from last season. The Bulls came into the day already locked into the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference and will host the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament on Wednesday. Chicago sat Josh Giddey (wrist) and limited the minutes of its other key players. Huerter only played 16 minutes, while Coby White, Nikola Vucevic and Matas Buzelis also registered under 20 minutes apiece. Lonnie Walker IV scored 31 points to pace Philadelphia (24-58), which missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17. The Sixers were ravaged by injuries to key players and were forced to give significant playing time to players such as Jared Butler (19 points), Adem Bona (16) and Marcus Bagley (10 points, career-best 15 rebounds). After trailing 56-49 at halftime, the Bulls began the second half on a 23-6 run that required less than five minutes. Collins scored five points in the opening minute of the third quarter to get the party started and then Julian Phillips added five points of his own shortly thereafter. Jevon Carter's 3-pointer gave Chicago its first double-digit lead, 72-62, and the visitors went on to lead 86-75 heading into the fourth. Horton-Tucker and Patrick Williams each scored two points in the first minute of the fourth as the lead ballooned to 15 for the first time. Smith and Williams knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers with about eight minutes left as the advantage grew to 104-84. The score was close throughout a first quarter that ended with the teams tied at 29-29. Huerter led all players with 11 points in the period, thanks to 3-of-3 shooting from long distance. Chicago struggled with its shooting in the second quarter, making just 8-of-28 attempts (28.6 percent) as Philadelphia took a seven-point lead into halftime. Walker scored 10 points in the frame.
Associated Press
13-04-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Bulls get ready for NBA play-in game with 122-102 win over 76ers in regular-season finale
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kevin Huerter hit five 3-pointers and scored 18 points and the Chicago Bulls warmed-up for the play-in game with a 122-102 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. The Bulls are the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference for the second straight season and will make their third straight appearance in the play-in tournament. The Bulls play the Heat on Wednesday night. Talen Horton-Tucker scored 17 points in a largely meaningless game for both teams. The Bulls had been locked in to their play-in spot. The 76ers finished with only 24 wins and finished the season on a 5-31 stretch. Lonnie Walker IV hit eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points for the Sixers. Jared Butler added 19 points. Takeaways Bulls: Bulls coach Billy Donovan expected injured guard Josh Giddey (right wrist) to return for Wednesday's play-in game against Miami. Giddey averaged 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.6 assists this season. 76ers: The 76ers finished perhaps — given the weight of the expectations with three All-Stars and a massive payroll — their worst season in franchise history. Paul George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey played all of 15 games together this season. The trio played a combined 119 games. Embiid, a two-time scoring champion, played only 19. Key moment The Bulls outscored the 76ers 37-19 in the third quarter to wipe out a halftime deficit. Up next The ninth-seeded Bulls host No. 10 Miami on Wednesday in an elimination game. The 76ers are guaranteed at least the fifth-best odds in the NBA draft lottery. That spot gives them a 10.5% chance at getting the top overall pick. They missed the postseason for the first time since the 2016-17 season. ___ AP NBA:
