Mike Cruz Articles - Page 53

Detroit Pistons big man Andre Drummond  grabbed his 8,104th career board in their 121-111 overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Well, what does it mean that he grabbed his 8,104th rebound in his career? That means the Pistons big man passed the late Wilt Chamberlain for most career rebounds through his age-26 season, per Fox […]

LeBron James made history on Saturday night after he moved into 3rd place, passing Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Despite coming up short against the Philadelphia 76ers, it was a special night for The King nonetheless. When asked about what it means to have someone like Bryant watch […]

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert was instrumental down the stretch in their 112-107 victory over Rick Carlisle and the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. The big man was all over the place and came up with clutch plays on both ends of the floor to help the Jazz secure the victory over the Mavs. Sure […]

The Utah Jazz sang tons of praises towards defensive anchor Rudy Gobert after his magnificent performance in their 112-107 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. Following the game, Donovan Mitchell vouched for his center to make the All-Star team, while Bojan Bogdanovic said that Gobert is playing at an MVP level right now. […]

Rudy Gobert made a number of key plays down the stretch to help the Utah Jazz secure a 112-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. Following the game, Donovan Mitchell gave huge praise to his teammate and even vouched for the Frenchman to make his first All-Star team this season, via Eric Walden […]

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James just surpassed Kobe Bryant on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Despite accomplishing the historic feat in Philadelphia, Bryant’s hometown no less, the Well Fargo Center crowd showed some love for The King by giving him a standing ovation. James acknowledged the shower of cheers and waved at the crowd. […]

With a chance to surpass Kobe Bryant on the NBA’s all-time scoring list on Saturday night, LeBron James honored the Los Angeles Lakers legend by writing “Mamba 4 Life” on his sneakers. .@KingJames wrote "Mamba 4 Life" on his shoes as he has a chance to pass @kobebryant for third on the all-time scoring list […]

Despite his very timid and straightforward demeanor, Kawhi Leonard is one of the most interesting personalities in the NBA today. The often quiet Los Angeles Clippers superstar has provided us with some priceless meme-worthy moments and soundbites over the last couple of years. Most recently, an apparent video of the two-time Finals MVP doing some […]

Toronto Raptors star forward Pascal Siakam turned in his highest scoring output since returning from injury. In their 118-112 victory over the New York Knicks, Siakam scored 23 points. Despite heading towards the right direction with this game, the Cameroonian believes he still has a long way to go to returning to the form he […]

Both Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers showed their commitment to each other when they agreed on a four-year $196-million super-max contract extension this past summer. Lillard has also gone on record saying that he wants to play with the Blazers for his entire career. In a post-game conversation with Jason Quick of The […]

With the continuous struggles of James Harden, the Houston Rockets leaned on Russell Westbrook to mitigate The Beard’s seemingly never-ending shooting woes. Westbrook scored a season-high 45 points to lead the Rockets to a 131-124 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Westbrook’s 45-piece became the most points scored by a guard without attempting a single three-pointer […]

There’s no question that Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has established himself as one of the best players in the NBA today. He has also caught the eye of some legends and players in the past. The latest former player to sing praises towards the Slovenian Sensation is former Mavs guard Derek Harper, who recently […]

L.A. Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard notched his first career triple-double in their thrilling 122-117 victory over the Miami Heat on Friday night. Predictably, Leonard took home the game ball for his achievement. Asked about what he plans to do with the ball, the two-time Finals MVP gave a classic “Kawhi” response, via Nick Friedell of […]

The Portland Trail Blazers needed a win badly. And on a night where they missed the other half of its star guard duo, the Blazers turned to Damian Lillard to carry them on Martin Luther King Jr. day. Lillard set multiple records in Portland’s thrilling 129-124 overtime victory over the Golden State Warriors. For one, […]

After leading the Boston Celtics to a massive 139-107 route of the Los Angeles Lakers, Jayson Tatum continued his MVP ways off-the-court for a worthy cause. The third year star donated his game-worn jersey and sneakers to help raise money for those affected by the ongoing bushfires in Australia. After a big win, @jaytatum0 donated […]

Charles Barkley has the uncanny ability to be funny unintentionally with his occasional mishaps on live television. The “Inside the NBA” analyst made another one on Monday night when he mistakenly said “Stay and Kleph” instead of “Steph and Klay,” of course referring to Golden State Warriors backcourt Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. The rest […]

Hall-of-Fame big man Shaquille O’Neal is very vocal about how he is the most dominant force the NBA has ever seen. And he’s right. Nobody manhandled his defenders down low like prime Shaquille O’Neal did. However, on this segment of Inside the NBA, Shaq admitted that facing Michael Jordan for the first time legitimately terrified […]

L.A. Clippers guard Lou Williams nailed the dagger three-pointer with 31.6 seconds remaining to sink the hearts of the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday. The triple capped off a 14-point fourth quarter from the 3-time Sixth Man of the Year awardee, helping the Clippers in their 133-130 victory over the Pelicans. After seeing Sweet Lou’s clutch […]

The Boston Celtics dropped their third straight contest when they lost to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. Despite the 3-game losing skid, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens still sees the positives of the rough stretch they are going through right now. Per Chris Forsberg, the 43-year old mentor believes that they can look back […]

Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley returned from a 14-game absence on Saturday night in their 123-101 win over the Sacramento Kings. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert expressed their happiness on having their veteran point guard back, who has been out the past month with a hamstring injury. Both also echoed the same sentiments of how […]

On Saturday, Zach LaVine had 42 points and five steals to lead the Chicago Bulls in their 118-116 come from behind victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers. With his performance on Saturday night, this marked the first time in nearly 24 years since someone in a Bulls uniform notched at least 40 points and five steals […]

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James put on a show against the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. The King dropped 31 points on 13-of-25 shooting, to go along with five rebounds, 12 assists and two steals to help the Purple and Gold secure a 124-115 road win over a fellow elite Western Conference team. LeBron’s […]

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving recently opened up about his conversations with injured teammate and best friend Kevin Durant, who still constantly sits on the bench during games. The six-time All-Star said that he and the two-time Finals MVP frequently talk about what they see for the Nets in the future when they finally have […]

Dwight Howard is enjoying a revival season with the Los Angeles Lakers, but Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni is not one bit surprised by the way his former player is performing. Prior to Sunday’s showdown between the Rockets and Lakers, D’Antoni acknowledged how talented of a player Howard is. He added that there’s nothing […]

Warning, don’t let the kids watch this. Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz just threw down a nasty hammer on Golden State Warriors forward Omari Spellman’s head right at the end of the first half of the match-up on Saturday night. On his head Markelle 🔨 pic.twitter.com/wNJ9S79ku2 — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 19, 2020 Don’t let Sixers […]

Inside the NBA analyst Charles Barkley recently said that Michael Porter Jr. could potentially become the Denver Nuggets’ second-best player by the season’s end. Harrison Wind of Denver Sports caught up with the Nuggets rookie and asked him to give his thoughts on Barkley’s comments. Though he appreciated Barkley’s praises, MPJ acknowledged that he still […]

Former Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen will reportedly serve a player development role for their G-League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, per Meghan Triplett of Grind City Media. Coach Taylor Jenkins just confirmed that Tony @aa000G9 Allen will have a role helping out with player development with the @MemphisHustle . Allen was seen at Hustle practice […]

New York Knicks rookie RJ Barrett went down in the third quarter of their 121-98 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night with an ankle injury. Apparently, this is the first time that Barrett had suffered a high ankle sprain as he did on Thursday. Nevertheless, Knicks head coach Mike Miller believes their 2019 […]

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown isn’t shy about sticking up for his guys and giving them praise when they deserve it most. The 7th year Sixers mentor continued his campaign for Ben Simmons on the 2019-20 All-Defensive First Team after his stellar defensive performance in their 100-89 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday […]

Memphis Grizzlies rookie Ja Morant submitted his entry for “pass of the year” in the fourth quarter of their 113-109 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Morant delivered a sick behind the back dish to Jaren Jackson Jr., who was waiting underneath the basket for a supposedly easy finish at the rim. Unfortunately, the 2018 4th […]

The L.A. Clippers were instantly tagged as championship favorites when they simultaneously landed Kawhi Leonard in free agency and acquired Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder via trade. Leonard, following their dominant 128-103 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, tempered any championship expectations for the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard on this Clippers season – […]

Kawhi Leonard made quick work of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 128-103 victory. The reigning Finals MVP dropped a casual 43 points on 14-of-22 shooting from the field (six 3-pointers) and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line. He did all that in just three quarters. With his […]

Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle has the privilege of being around the Luka Doncic experience on a daily basis. Being with him everyday in practice, at courtside during games, or even during film sessions, the NBA champion coach has a first-hand account of what it’s like to be around such a budding generational talent […]

Memphis Grizzlies rookie Ja Morant had a monster outing, arguably the best game of his young career, in their 121-110 home victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night. Morant finished his night with 26 points and eight assists, and shot an extremely efficient 10-of-11 from the field. According to NBA.com Stats, the 20-year old […]

Jaylen Brown’s breakout season is real. The Boston Celtics guard is averaging career-best numbers and percentages across the board. Nevertheless, the fourth-year wing is still aiming to get better. Per Jay King of The Athletic, Brown said that one of his ongoing individual goals this season is to shoot over 80 percent from the charity […]

Grant Williams is campaigning hard for Boston Celtics teammates Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown to make this year’s All-Star Game. If all three of them make the 12-man cut, the Celtics rookie has promised to dye his hair pink for a month. Watch him give his hilarious campaign speech below, per John Karalis […]

The Miami Heat will give three-time NBA champion and 2006 Finals MVP Dwyane Wade a full weekend to celebrate his legendary career with the organization. Udonis Haslem, however, is planning for a grander retirement ceremony. According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Haslem, wants to have a week-long celebration given his ties […]

Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma turned in his best individual outing of the season on Saturday, leading a Lakers team playing without LeBron James and Anthony Davis to a 125-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kuzma poured in a season-high 36 points on 15-of-24 shooting in the road victory. When whether his outstanding […]

Chicago Bulls guard Denzel Valentine has fallen out of the good graces of head coach Jim Boylen and has been out of the Bulls rotation since the calendar turned 2020. With the way things are going, it’s looking more and more like Valentine is no longer part of Chicago’s plans for the future. Rumors suggest, […]