Latest news with #MacMcClung
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Maine Celtics' playoff elimination poses questions about JD Davison, Drew Peterson's futures
Photo by Evan Yu/NBAE via Getty Images A special Maine Celtics season ended on Sunday night with a 135-119 loss to the Osceola Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals, despite continued strong play from G League MVP JD Davison. Davison dropped 34 points and 11 assists, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 42-point performance by Mac McClung. A Davison jumper brought the Celtics to within single digits with four minutes to play, but the Magic pulled away behind hot shooting and superb offensive execution. Advertisement Celtics two-way forward Drew Peterson recorded 25 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 turnovers. Fellow two-way signee Miles Norris added 19 points and 8 rebounds on 7-11 shooting from the floor. Starting center James Banks III, a second-year player on the Maine Celtics, once again faced foul trouble, and was limited to 4 points and 5 rebounds in just 11 minutes. Tristan Enaruna, who finished with 20 points on 7 of 17 shooting, started in place of Jordan Walsh. Walsh was in Boston for the Celtics' 124-90 win over the Wizards, and played 7 fourth-quarter minutes in the victory, grabbing two rebounds. Mac McClung leads a dominant effort for the Magic On the other side, Mac McClung led the way with 42 points and 6 assists. McClung, the 2024 G League MVP, shot 16 of 26 from the field and 3 of 7 from threes. Advertisement Ethan Sampson, another Magic two-way player, and Jalen Slawsoh each added 20 points. Osceola shot 18-39 (46.2%) from three, with five players hitting at least three three-pointers. Maine knew beating the Magic wasn't going to be easy. 'It's gonna be a challenge,' Lashbrook said after the Celtics' win over the Westchester Knicks on Thursday. 'It's gonna be a battle. That team has been on a roll — about the same time that we started getting on our run, they went on their own run. To me, it's been the two best teams over this last back half of the stretch, and so it'll be fun game for us to match up.' As a result of the victory, the Magic (22-12) will advance to face the Stockton Kings (22-12) in a three-game G League Finals, while the Maine Celtics season comes to an end. What's next for JD Davison and the Maine Celtics? The Celtics' three two-ways — Davison, Norris, and Peterson — will rejoin the Boston Celtics for the postseason run, as will Maine Celtics assistant coach Tyler Lashbrook, who was an assistant coach on the Celtics' championship team last year. The two-ways will be eligible to play in the Celtics' final four regular season games — against the Knicks, Magic, and Hornets (twice), but given their two-way status, they won't be eligible to suit up in the playoffs. Advertisement The Celtics still have a 15th roster spot available on their main roster and could sign one of their two-way players to the final sport, as they did with Neemias Queta toward the end of last season. Queta spent far more time (13.7 minutes per game across 28 games) with Boston last year than any two-way player has this year, but it's still quite possible that Boston would convert one of the two-way contracts to a guaranteed deal. Davison has been by far Maine's best player this season, averaging 25.1 points and 7.5 assists this season — and 35 points and 13.3 assists in the postseason. In his third season with the Celtics, Davison dominated the G League from start to finish and was named MVP of the league last week. But, Peterson has spent more time around Boston than Davison, and could also be up for consideration for the final roster spot. Peterson has appeared in 22 regular-season games for the Celtics this season, averaging 7.2 minutes per game on 40% shooting. Davison, meanwhile, has only appeared in 13 games, averaging 4.3 minutes. But his dominance in the G League has been unrivaled and has been the coaches in noticed by the coach in Boston, too. Advertisement 'His leadership has really grown — just his ability to impact winning in different ways,' Joe Mazzulla said last week. It seems most unlikely that Norris, who has spent just a few weeks with the Celtics organization, would be converted from a two-way to a guaranteed contract so quick. A decision regarding the 15th roster spot will be made in the coming weeks, with the Celtics' regular season coming to a close on April 13th at home against the Hornets. More from
Washington Post
17-02-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
The biggest winners and losers from NBA All-Star Weekend
SAN FRANCISCO — In some ways, this year's NBA All-Star Weekend was pretty predictable. Mac McClung took home his third straight slam dunk contest crown. Victor Wembanyama, the San Antonio Spurs' towering center, drew tons of media attention in his all-star debut. And Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry won his second All-Star Game MVP trophy to delight the home crowd at Chase Center.
USA Today
16-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
NBA All-Star Game live: Four-team, three-game tournament format debuts
NBA All-Star Game live: Four-team, three-game tournament format debuts Show Caption Hide Caption Mac McClung open to returning for dunk contest with Ja Morant Mac McClung would consider going for 4-peat at the dunk contest if Ja Morant enters SAN FRANCISCO — Once again introducing a new format into the NBA All-Star Game, the league is depending on players to deliver a competitive event that satisfies commissioner Adam Silver, fans and the league's partners. Will those stakeholders find satisfaction in the four-team mini-tournament Sunday that features three eight-player teams comprised of 12 All-Stars from the Eastern Conference and 12 All-Stars from the Western Conference and a fourth team made up from the Rising Stars event? The winner of the semifinals (Kenny's Young Stars vs. Chuck's Global Stars and Shaq's OGs vs. Candace's Rising Stars) and final will be the first team to reach 40 points. Each player on the championship-winning team will receive $125,000, each player on the second-place team will receive $50,000 and each player on the third- and fourth-place teams will receive $25,000. Follow all of Sunday night's action from the NBA All-Star Game: Location: Chase Center (San Francisco) Date: Sunday Time: 8 p.m. ET TV: TNT Shaq's OGs: LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, James Harden, Jaylen Brown and Anthony Davis. LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, James Harden, Jaylen Brown and Anthony Davis. Chuck's Global Stars: Donovon Mitchell, Nikola Jokic, Trae Young, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Pascal Siakam, Alperen Sengun and Karl-Anthony Towns. Donovon Mitchell, Nikola Jokic, Trae Young, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Pascal Siakam, Alperen Sengun and Karl-Anthony Towns. Kenny's Young Stars: Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, Jaren Jackson Jr., Cade Cunningham, Darius Garland, Tyler Herro, Evan Mobley and Jalen Williams. Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, Jaren Jackson Jr., Cade Cunningham, Darius Garland, Tyler Herro, Evan Mobley and Jalen Williams. Candace's Rising Stars: Stephon Castle, Ryan Dunn, Zach Edey, Keyonte George, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Dalton Knecht, Amen Thompson, Jaylen Wells The 2026 NBA All-Star Game will be held in Los Angeles at the Clippers' Intuit Dome. The 2027 NBA All-Star Game is headed to the desert in Phoenix at the Suns' Footprint Center. The location of the 2028 NBA All-Star Game has not been announced yet. NBA All-Star Game: How to stream basketball event NBA All-Star weekend welcomes a few events tipping off across networks that include ESPN and TNT, which you can stream on Sling. Watch NBA All-Star weekend events with Sling What\'s the future of \'Inside the NBA\'? Details still need to be worked out SAN FRANCISCO – The idea of not working NBA All-Star Weekend didn't register with TNT's Kenny Smith until a friend asked him a question this week. 'My friend asked, 'Are you going to come to All-Star Weekend next year?' Smith told USA TODAY Sports from the green room at Pier 48, down the street from Golden State's Chase Center. He was preparing to appear with TNT's popular 'Inside the NBA' crew for a show before the Minnesota-Oklahoma City game. 'I said, 'What do you mean?' He says, 'Well, NBC does it after this season.' When my friend asked me that question, I had never thought about it." Read the full story here. Opinion: NBA\'s winning social media strategy comes at expense of All-Star Game Despite the NBA's best efforts over the last decade to juice up its All-Star Game to a vague level of competitiveness and credibility, it's hard to see the league's newest gimmick generating significantly different results this weekend than the Elam Ending or having LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo drafting the teams. If that's the case, NBA commissioner Adam Silver will likely see it as a failure. He has made it clear he wants the All-Star Game to be something other than a glorified pickup run, and the league hopes that this year's format — dividing players into four teams and having a first-to-40 tournament — will be more satisfying for fans in the arena and more attractive for those watching on television. But the real problem with the All-Star Game is not something the NBA can fix with a new format, or even shoveling money into the bank accounts of the players. The problem is us. Or, to be more precise, the way our collective consumption of the NBA has evolved. Read Dan Wolken's column here. Opinion: NBA All-Star Game on life support? Format change may save it NBA commissioner Adam Silver wants a more competitive All-Star Game. His broadcast partners domestically and globally want a more competitive game. Fans – and their seething, disgusted, and worse, apathetic emails dropped into my inbox – want the same. I, too, prefer a more competitive All-Star Game. Yet, I am skeptical that there is a long-term solution to making it a better product for the league, its partners and fans. Read Jeff Zillgitt's column here. We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn't influence our coverage.
New York Times
16-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
NBA All-Star Game live updates: Weekend highlights, game time, formats and team rosters
Check out the highlights from Saturday night, including Mac McClung jumping over a Kia and scoring a 50 on all of his dunks to win his third straight Dunk Contest. Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images SAN FRANCISCO — He may still not be a household name, nor is he really an NBA player, but Mac McClung can now say he is the greatest dunk champion in league history. McClung, 26, who plays for the Osceola Magic in the NBA G League and played in just one game for the Orlando Magic this season, became the first player in dunk contest history to win the event three years in a row — pulling off a perfect score of 200 with four dunks not quite seen before and beat San Antonio rookie Stephon Castle in an entertaining final round to finish off All-Star Saturday night at the Chase Center. Tyler Hero, a first-time All-Star who is currently tied for fourth in 3s this season, unseated Damian Lillard as 3-point champion by narrowly escaping round one (by one point, over Lillard) and then finishing with a final-round tally of 24 points — beating hometown favorite Buddy Hield, of the Warriors, by a point. The Cavaliers' duo of Donovan Mitchell and Mobley, both All-Stars, won the annual skills challenge, emerging victorious in individual rounds of an obstacle course, passing contest and shooting competition over the host-Warriors' Draymond Green and Moses Moody. GO FURTHER Mac McClung flashes perfect score, pulling off historic third straight NBA dunk contest win On Halloween night in 2007, a 19-year-old rookie from the District of Columbia took a bounce pass in transition. Kevin Durant dribbled once and pushed off his left leg toward the rim. The shot didn't fall but Durant was fouled. Durant missed the first free throw, but he made the second. 'And there, his first NBA point is scored at the line,' broadcaster Mike Tirico told an ESPN audience. 'I think there will be a few more after that.' A few more and then some. Over the next 17-plus years, Durant established himself as an elite scorer, collecting one milestone after another. On Tuesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, he passed 30,000 career points with two free throws late in the third quarter, sacred ground that only seven other NBA players have reached. 'There's what, there's 5,000 billionaires in the world?' said Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, perhaps a bit high in his estimate. 'This is a more exclusive club.' Wilt Chamberlain was the first member, scoring his 30,000th point when Phoenix Suns big man Neal Walk goal-tended a shot near the rim in 1972. ('Is that some way to get to 30,000 points?' legendary Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn said that night.) Since then, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James have followed. Julius Erving also scored 30,000 points, but 11,662 came in the ABA. 'I've always been inspired by the greats,' Durant said after the Phoenix Suns' 119-112 loss to Memphis. 'I wanted to reach their level. … I've been inspired by those guys, and to be in their company is just surreal. 'I just want to do things the right way,' he said. 'I want to come to work every day, put my best foot forward. … I've accumulated some accolades, but for the most part, I just try to maximize myself every day.' Read more on Durant's path to 30,000 points here. GO FURTHER Kevin Durant and the march toward 30,000 points: 'Consistency of greatness' The LA Clippers weren't going to have an All-Star starter. But the question was whether point guard James Harden or one of his teammates, such as shooting guard Norman Powell or center Ivica Zubac, would represent the team in San Francisco with Kawhi Leonard missing the start of the season. 'Somebody's got to make it,' Harden said after his third 40-point game of the season in a win over the Milwaukee Bucks last month. 'We've put the work in. We put ourselves in a really good position.' The NBA head coaches selected Harden as an All-Star reserve. He earned his 11th selection and his first since a 10-year streak was snapped in 2023. Harden is the 16th All-Star in franchise history — and the oldest at 35. 'For James, it's a great individual award just to be an All-Star,' Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. 'It's only 24 players selected out of 450 players. He's been at the elite level before. It's good to see him get back there. People recognize how much he means to a team and what he does.' Read more on a resurgent season from Harden here. GO FURTHER How James Harden's leadership surprised the Clippers and made him an All-Star again The pressures that come with being the No. 1 pick can be as heavy. The fan base expects that player to be a savior. The franchise decision-makers do, too. The suits go to sleep wishing, hoping, perhaps even praying that their decision to select a player with the honor of the No. 1 pick can lead to grander things. But for every LeBron James, there's a Michael Olowokandi. For every Shaquille O'Neal, there's a Kwame Brown. The hype doesn't always match what ends up happening. Somewhere between each end of the spectrum is Karl-Anthony Towns, who has long been considered one of the best offensive talents in the game since his arrival a decade ago. There's a trophy room full of individual accolades, though the team ones aren't there yet. Towns didn't quite alter the fortunes of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team that took him No. 1 in 2015, but he eventually helped get them somewhere they hadn't been in 20 years, all while being among the league's best offensive players. Towns, now a member of the New York Knicks, was recently named an All-Star for the fifth time in his career. By the season's end, he'll likely be a three-time All-NBA player. He's on a short list of legitimate MVP candidates. More importantly, Towns is in a situation where the team success that has evaded him to this point in his career is obtainable. The Knicks are third in the Eastern Conference and in the midst of a season New York City hasn't witnessed in quite some time. Read more on a career year for KAT here. GO FURTHER The gravity of Karl-Anthony Towns: How he became the best version of himself with Knicks Mac McClung's performance was so electric tonight that he has NBA stars like Ja Morant and Giannis Antetokounmpo thinking about getting involved in the Dunk Contest next year. Mac McClung is not the first person to earn four straight 50s in a dunk contest. Zach LaVine did it in 2015, and Aaron Gordon actually had five straight 50s in 2020 before losing controversially to Derrick Jones Jr. in a dunk-off. Still, four straight 50s is no small feat. Watch all four of them below. Mac McClung had previously indicated this will likely be his last dunk contest, but he at least left the door open when asked directly by TNT's Allie LaForce. Four-peat in 2026? Tonight illustrates why I keep coming back to the Dunk Contest even as it seems to perpetually teeter on the edge of irrelevancy. Nobody was excited about this field, yet it produced a one-on-one duel that was at least in the same ballpark as Aaron Gordon-Zach LaVine. (And by the way: Few expected Gordon-LaVine to be as incredible as it ended up being). Stephon Castle was a worthy adversary and Mac McClung had to earn his victory. I understand why there are so many calls for the big names to sign up. We have been deprived some of the best athletes in the sport. But dunking is a different skill altogether, and you never know who will thrive on the open stage. Give me a big name, a couple up-and-comers and a guy like McClung, and I'm happy. We got two of three this time, at least. Stephon Castle had a very DeMar DeRozan in 2011 performance. Excellent dunker but didn't have the theatricality. I imagine Castle will have similar feelings about props after this one. How many letters in Mac? Three.🏆🏆🏆 Mac McClung is the first three-peat NBA Dunk Contest champ. Trivia question: How many times did Mac McClung score below a 50 in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest? Mac is the deserved winner, but I'm over pushing off of a person holding the ball to get extra height. He does sick stuff after he pushes off, but he's pushing off three years in a row. Up the money and get the stars out there. Or maybe they're just scared of Mac? Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images Mac McClung is the king of adding extra movements before he dunks, and also making sure everyone sees what he's doing. Imagine if Gerald Green had that clarity back when he did the cupcake dunk! You gotta give it to Mac McClung. He brought it tonight. One of the best performances ever. To tap it on the front of the rim at that speed and do it softly enough to not lose control of the ball is totally insane. Legendary stuff from Mac McClung today. Evan Mobley is a prop, and Mobley is standing on a block. Mac McClung leaps Mobley, grabs the rock, makes the ball and the rim kiss, then delivers the dunk. Good night, everyone. McClung has defeated Stephon Castle. Stephon Castle may go down as the most underappreciated dunk contest runner-up. Sometimes, it really is about adding charisma to the athleticism. If he hyped that crowd, would results be different? Stephon Castle made that look too easy, and it's a sweet throwback to what Andre Iguodala and JR Smith have done in the past. That's nasty, but the crowd is with Mac McClung and his prop dunks. Kenny Smith on national TV on Mac McClung's dunk: "That might be the second-best dunk I've ever seen." That is some high praise. Here it is. As someone who has never dunked — is it harder to dunk off a make than a miss? I wonder what the version of that Stephon Castle dunk looks like if it clanks off the front rim.
New York Times
16-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Is Mac McClung the contest GOAT? Plus, Mavs fan check-in and sports shows to watch in February
The Pulse Newsletter📣 | This is The Athletic's daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Dunk (carefully) over something today. Midseason festivities deliver We can probably all agree the NBA dunk contest lineup, on paper, did not excite. But we might owe Mac McClung an apology. He did this last night: MUST-SEE Slow-mo replays of Mac McClung's dunk OVER A CAR ‼️#ATTSlamDunk — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 16, 2025 The 26-year-old Magic G-Leaguer scored a perfect 200 across his four dunks to win his third straight title. Earlier in the night, the Cavs' Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley won the skills challenge, and Tyler Herro won the 3-point contest. Elsewhere, in the NHL's midseason event: The United States advanced to the 4 Nations Face-Off final, set for Thursday, with a 3-1 win over Canada — but American star Matthew Tkachuk was injured. (Also: There were three fights in the first nine seconds. 🌶️) Advertisement More news 📫 Love the Pulse? Check out our other newsletters. Two weeks have passed since the Dallas Mavericks pushed the nuclear button on that Luka Dončić-for-Anthony Davis trade. How's it been playing in North Texas? Let's check in: Even further indignity arrived at midweek: The Athletic's John Hollinger ranked all 30 teams' trade deadline performance and put the Lakers first and Mavericks dead last. 'If you start with, 'Does this have the chance to be one of the worst trades in NBA history?' it's pretty easy to end up at, 'Yes,'' Hollinger writes. I asked The Bounce's Zach Harper if Mavs fans vs. Mavs management is the most toxic dynamic he's ever seen between a fan base and front office: 💬 A couple examples come to mind, with Knicks fans often angry with James Dolan for a long time, and 76ers fans revolted against the Colangelos when they stepped in for Sam Hinkie as the Trust The Process era was being dismantled. Those were tenuous relationships between a fan base and upper management specifically. I do not remember seeing this much extended vitriol toward a front office like we're seeing with the Mavs fans. The 'fire Nico Harrison' moments in the arena will not go away, and the team has to decide how sensitive it'll be. Fans held a funeral for the team! They're protesting outside the arena! This is an 11 out of 10 on just about every level. This mess could take years to unwind. Formula 1's American TV deal with ESPN expires at the end of this year. The coming dance between F1 owner Liberty Media and potential TV partners is a bit more compelling than your typical sports TV negotiation. Luke Smith's deep dive into the state of play explains why: F1's Netflix-aided boom in the United States has given the series a durable lift in live viewership, but the numbers have plateaued of late after huge jumps in 2021 and '22. That leaves a tough calculation for Liberty: As one analyst tells Smith: 'If the rights holder gets good money, (I'm) not so sure that it's really interested in the viewing (figures), you know?' We'll see. Netflix's interest seems serious and makes obvious sense, given how well 'Drive to Survive' worked for all parties. The NFL season may be over, but sports never die! With the Super Bowl behind us, here's Hannah Vanbiber with a check-in on sports shows to watch for the rest of the month. We'll keep you updated throughout the year! Current and upcoming shows I'm most excited about, ranked: Sequel seasons coming soon: We are fully embarking on the NFL offseason. Here's the biggest offseason need for all 32 teams. Wilt Chamberlain spent a year with the Harlem Globetrotters. It was, in a word, magical. Brody Miller is in La Jolla, Calif., this weekend for the Genesis Invitational. He had one question: Is Torrey Pines, a legendary course, good? Most-clicked in Friday's newsletter: The available QB options for the Jets, and all others. Most-read on the website yesterday: Our live blog covering the U.S. win over Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off.
