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Nets finding scarce practice time in form of end-of-season games

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:49:51 GMT

The Nets are tending to their own backyard.While other NBA teams shut down starters in the final games of the regular season, the Nets ruled every player except Ben Simmons (nerve impingement, out for the season) available for Wednesday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic.The Nets entered the night one win away from securing the Eastern Conference’s sixth and final guaranteed playoff seed. A loss would make Sunday’s season finale against the Philadelphia 76ers a must-win to ward off the seventh-seeded Miami Heat and avoid falling into the Play-In Tournament.The Sixers, for example, rested their entire starting lineup Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks. The Miami Heat also rested their core rotation: Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Kevin Love and Nikola Jovic all sat for the Heat against the Washington Wizards.“That’s why you water your own lawn, bro. I am concerned only about what’s gonna be beneficial for this group, an...

Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla remembers late West Virginia coach Billy Hahn

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:49:51 GMT

Joe Mazzulla could always count on Billy Hahn – whether it was at West Virginia as a player under him or as he embarked on a coaching career after – and there were so many messages that were instilled as he ultimately became the head coach of the Celtics.“A lot that I probably can’t repeat,” Mazzulla said.But they will certainly carry on. Hahn – a college basketball coach for more than 40 years, including 11 seasons as an assistant on Bob Huggins’ staff at West Virginia – died on Friday at 69, his family confirmed. Mazzulla played for Hahn with the Mountaineers from 2006-11 – which included an appearance in the 2010 Final Four – and his impact on the former point guard turned NBA head coach was long-lasting.“He was great,” Mazzulla said before the Celtics played the Raptors on Friday. “I had him for four years in college. And he was just a guy that brought a level of energy and mindset, the entire time no matter what was going on. He was a player’s coach. He was there fo...

Markelle Fultz, Franz Wagner reinserted to Magic’s lineup vs. Nets

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:49:51 GMT

Guard Markelle Fultz and forward Franz Wagner were available and back in the starting lineup for the Orlando Magic’s road game against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday after sitting out Thursday’s home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.Guard Gary Harris was also available off the bench.The Magic sat their starters in the loss to the Cavaliers, the first night of a back-to-back, opting for players who haven’t been in the rotation.But a few of those players — including Fultz, Harris and Wagner — who didn’t get play on Thursday were back in the lineup against the Nets.Guard Cole Anthony, who was available but didn’t play against the Cavaliers, made his fourth start of the season against the Nets alongside Fultz, Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Goga Bitadze.“There’s always something to play for when you’re with a young group,” coach Jamahl Mosley said pregame. “That is teaching winning habits. Teaching how to play meaningful baske...

David Griffin on Zion Williamson’s potential playoff availability: ‘We may never get to that point either’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:49:51 GMT

It’s the time of year to sit out games. We have the tankers and relaxers.The Knicks fit in the latter category after clinching the fifth seed, which prompted them to sit three regular starters Friday night — Jalen Brunson, Mitchell Robinson and RJ Barrett — while Julius Randle remained inactive because of a sprained ankle.But their opponent in New Orleans, the Pelicans, had everything to play for. And with a familiar name on their DNP list.Zion Williamson, once touted as the next generation’s NBA megastar, was ruled out for the play-in tournament by Pelicans vice president David Griffin, who still hasn’t provided anything concrete about a possible return date.Even if the Pelicans, who entered Friday night as the eighth seed, advance to the playoffs, it sounds iffy, at best, for Williamson’s availability.“Our best possible outcome would be if everything lined up perfectly, maybe you’re in a position to practice prior to a first-round se...

Marcus Stroman dominates the Texas Rangers in a 2-0 Chicago Cubs win: ‘If you give me more confidence, that’s a scary sight’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:49:51 GMT

David Ross talked about what he called “the Twitter machine” before Friday’s game against the Texas Rangers at Wrigley Field, noting he’s not a frequent visitor to the app.“I go on Twitter every once in a while,” the Chicago Cubs manager said. “Just not on me. I try to stay out of (things). I’m not Googling myself and seeing all the awesome things people are saying about me.”The 2023 season marks a turning point in Ross’s career as Cubs manager. He’s being judged by a higher standard and saw the first real volley of criticism aimed in his direction last week after a failed bunt attempt by Patrick Wisdom in a loss to the Cincinnati Reds. It was mild but jarring coming so early in the season.Ross said he welcomes the criticism, and as a former analyst with ESPN he understands the game relies on fan debate, much of which the media fuels. He’s not averse to taking risks, no matter the potential for Twitter abuse.Ros...

Steve Cohen on Mets’ early struggles: ‘It’s foolish to make conclusions in such a short period…’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:49:51 GMT

Steve Cohen has a message for the fans who are worried about the Mets after the first seven games of the season: It’s too early to panic. The club’s owner held court in the Mets’ dugout Friday morning ahead of the 2023 home opener. He touched on a number of subjects regarding the club and its future.While some owners are content to stay out of sight and out of the line of fire from the fans, Cohen still likes to think of himself as one of them. After all, the Mets were his favorite childhood team. He sat with the 7 Line Army in Miami during the Amazin’s Opening Day win and he interacts with them on Twitter.Cohen is listening to the fans, and while he thinks the concerns over the 4-4 start to the season are valid, they’re a bit premature.“I see it the same way like in my own business and a hedge fund business,” Cohen said. “I’ll have a bad week. That doesn’t define my year, it doesn’t define my month. And so it’s...

Federal judge blocks abortion pill approval

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:49:51 GMT

(The Hill) – In an unprecedented decision, a federal judge in Texas has issued a stay that will shut down the prescribing and distribution of mifepristone in seven days, one of two drugs used for medication abortions that has been on the market in the U.S. for more than two decades.District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former President Trump, gave the government a weeklong window to appeal and seek emergency relief before his ruling goes into effect.The FDA can appeal the decision to the conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the judge has given the federal government seven days to seek relief. The case could eventually reach the Supreme Court.  Hundreds of books have been banned this year: Which titles and states are most impacted Kacsmaryk sided with the antiabortion group that brought the lawsuit and said the agency's approval process was improperly rushed, and resulted in an unsafe drug regimen getting on the market.The drug was first approved in...

In Nicaragua, Holy week celebrations limited by government

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:49:51 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Roman Catholics in had to hold traditional “Stations of the Cross” and other Holy Week processions on church grounds or inside churches Friday amid a ban on public demonstrations.Relations between autocratic President Daniel Ortega and the church have frayed to near non-existence since Nicaragua’s government proposed severing relations and sentenced a bishop to 26 years in prison.Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes told The Associated Press that celebrations were held throughout the country “near the churches.”“In absolutely every parish there were celebrations,” Brenes said, though he added they went off “not with all the intensity” of years past.Germán Miranda, one of hundreds of faithful who showed up for the procession at the Managua Cathedral, was one of those who found it less inspiring this year.He said Holy Week celebrations were better in the past when they wound through the streets of the capital. “It was better before, because it was freer.”Miranda sai...

Judge halts FDA approval of abortion pill mifepristone

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:49:51 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge in Texas on Friday ordered a hold on U.S. approval of the abortion medication mifepristone, throwing into question access to the nation’s most common method of abortion in a ruling that waved aside decades of scientific approval.The immediate impact of the ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, which does not go into immediate effect, was unclear. The abortion drug has been widely used in the U.S. since 2000 and there is essentially no precedent for a lone judge overruling the medical decisions of the Food and Drug Administration. Mifepristone is one of two drugs used for medication abortion in the United States, along with misoprostol, which is also used to treat other medical conditions.Kacsmaryk, a Trump administration appointee in Amarillo, Texas, signed an injunction directing the FDA to stay mifepristone’s approval while a lawsuit challenging the safety and approval of the drug continues. His 67-page order gave the government s...

Finger cut to keep Celtics’ Brown out for final 2 games

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:49:51 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown says he will miss the final two regular-season games but expects to be ready to go in time for the start of the playoffs after cutting a finger on his shooting hand.Brown told reporters Friday night before a game against Toronto that he cut his hand on some glass Thursday night and had to get five stitches. He was wearing a protective wrap and expects to be restricted for at least the next two days. Marcus Smart (neck spasms) and Malcolm Brogdon (back) also sat out Friday.Coach Joe Mazzulla said he doesn’t expect any of the injuries to be anything that lingers heading into the postseason.Boston, which is locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, hosts Atlanta on Sunday in its regular-season finale. ___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press