#bruce-brown

#bruce-brown

Boston-area product Bruce Brown of Wakefield has no interest in a return home to play for the Boston Celtics this offseason, or a departure to play anywhere else but in the Mile High City, during free agency after being a part of the 2023 NBA Championship Denver Nuggets and closing out the Miami Heat in five games on June 12.

Morning Sports Update Hopkins recently concluded a visit with the Titans.The Red Sox lost to the Rockies 4-3 on Monday despite James Paxton allowing no earned runs over six innings.Defense and a lack of clutch hitting was once again the issue for Boston, who dropped to 33-34 with the defeat.The two teams play again tonight at Fenway Park starting at 7:10 p.m.

One of the strengths of the Lakers this postseason has been their malleability, a quality shared with the 2020 title team.A roster full of interchangeable pieces has swapped in and out each series depending on what has been called for.One of the few exceptions to that has largely been D'Angelo Russell.

With the withdrawal deadline of May 31 having come and gone, the field of players is set for the 2023 NBA Draft.The Lakers look set to hang onto their No. 17 draft pick at the very least and have a clearer idea of who they can target with their picks.In reality, there isn't much change with the No. 17 pick as few, if any, players in that range withdrew.

Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images The Brooklyn Nets' short-lived experiment with James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving didn't end well, with all three eventually parting ways and getting traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks, respectively.But Bruce Brown said Harden was an excellent teammate, on and off the floor.

The Nuggets' Bruce Brown passes between the Wizards' Daniel Gafford and Corey Kispert in the first half Wednesday night at Capital One Arena.(Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images) It looked for one half Wednesday night that the Washington Wizards might have found the antidote for their recent woes: an opponent sliding nearly as badly as they are.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The Lakers gathered Sunday to watch film with the idea that they could solve this puzzle in the Western Conference finals that is Denver.They remain confident that this group can overcome the long odds that no team in NBA history has ever beaten when having faced such dire circumstances.

LOS ANGELES To win a championship in the N.B.A., a team almost always needs at least one transcendent player.But the championship journey will also depend on how well a team's role players do their jobs.The Lakers, with 17 titles, know this well.Would they have won in 2010 without Metta Sandiford-Artest, or in 2002 without Robert Horry? Shaquille O'Neal, who won three championships for the Lakers with Kobe Bryant, often talks about the importance of the others the players who aren't stars.

The Lakers were 6-0 in home playoff games prior to tonight.They are now 6-1, and - after losing to the Denver Nuggets, 119-108- are now one loss away from the end of their season.The defeat puts the Lakers in a 0-3 hole, a deficit no team has ever come back from to win a series.Teams with a 3-0 lead are 149-0 in playoff series in NBA history.

Despite looking set to be run off the floor for at least the first half of Game 1, the Lakers were the team that put a scare into the Nuggets by the time the final buzzer rang.After pushing all the right buttons in the second half and making the adjustments, the Lakers stormed back from down 21 points and nearly stunned the hosts in Game 1.
Walking away from the game, the Lakers certainly could feel like a team that had the Nuggets thinking and potentially flustered.

The Denver Nuggets entered Saturday's matinee at Madison Square Garden a reeling Western power, having lost four of five.They leave town even reeling-er, now losers of five of six after the New York Knicks came back from 13 down in the second half to win.One of the Knicks' only missing merit badges this year has been defending the homecourt, but this win makes it seven of eight at MSG.

Eight days later, Denver and Toronto meet again after the most talked about matchup last week due to a ref screwjob (or if you want to get specific, Scott Foster).If you missed that, I wrote about it here.Foster won't be doing this game.The Raptors play seven over their next eight games at home, hosting three West opponents in a row.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

As Rui Hachimura stood at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, a chant rang out from the fans inside Crypto.comArena:
"Ru-i...Ru-i...Ru-i...Ru-i!"When he made the second of his two free throws, Hachimura had given the Lakers a one-point lead over the resilient Denver Nuggets.

The Lakers led most of the way but a fourth-quarter push by the Denver Nuggets was the difference maker as L.A. drops Game 2, 108-103.After the collapse, the Lakers now face a 0-2 deficit as the series shifts to Los Angeles.Game 2 was aggressive and contentious from the jump.The Nuggets found themselves in early foul trouble with their starting wings Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Michael Porter Jr. earning two early fouls each.

The Lakers will keep the three-guard lineup alive even without Russell Westbrook available against the Denver Nuggets Wednesday night.Per reporting from Shams Charania, Austin Reaves will fill in for Westbrook alongside Lonnie Walker IV, Patrick Beverley, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis.Reaves practiced with the starters on Tuesday and could be in the first unit going forward.

The Washington Wizards host the Denver Nuggets Wednesday night in arguably the most crucial must-win game of the season.The Wizards sit two games behind the Chicago Bulls for the final play-in spot with 10 games to play.The Nuggets have already clinched a playoff spot and are in the midst of a late-season coast, as they are 5-5 in their last 10 games.

The Boston Celtics didn't start off 2023 like they would've liked, but an easy chance at redemption offers itself for their second game of a year-opening road trip when the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Cs at the Paycom Center on Tuesday, January 3.
Boston is coming off a loss to the Denver Nuggets in which Nikola Jokic went for a 30/12/12 triple-double and Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown, and Michael Porter Jr. combined for 58 points to down the Celtics 123-111.

The Washington Wizards just keep on losing.Last night, it was to Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets - Washington's 8th loss in a row and 11th in their last 12 games.The Nuggets bludgeoned the Wizards with 98 points in the paint.That's a new Denver franchise record.Nuggets PR tweeted that it's the most by an NBA team in at least 25 years.