SPORTS

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Giannis Antetokounmpo remained with the Milwaukee Bucks as the NBA trade deadline passed on Thursday, the team delaying any move until after the season ends.

The 31-year-old Greek forward, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player who helped Milwaukee win the 2021 league title, is a 10-time All-Star who has attracted trade interest with the Bucks at 20-29 this season.

Antetokounmpo, 31, is averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists a game this season but is out with a calf injury.

“Legends don’t chase. They attract,” Antetokounmpo posted on X after the deadline with a meme from “The Wolf of Wall Street” of Leonardo DiCaprio yelling about not leaving – a message quickly reposted by the Bucks.

Milwaukee likely can make a better deal after the season for Antetokounmpo, who has an option year on his contract after next season.

The club did, however, send Cole Anthony and Amir Coffey to Phoenix for Nigel Hayes-Davis and Nick Richards in a three-team swap that sent Jamaican centre Richards to Chicago and French forward Ousmane Dieng to the Bucks. The Minnesota Timberwolves, who had hoped to unite Antetokounmpo with star guard Anthony Edwards, obtained guard Ayo Dosunmu from Chicago, according to ESPN, which reported the T-Wolves sent Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round NBA Draft picks to the Bulls for Dosunmu and forward Julian Phillips.

The Golden State Warriors filled their desire for a big man by trading with Atlanta for Kristaps Porzingis on Wednesday, sending Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Hawks.

Also staying in place was Memphis guard Ja Morant, who remains with the NBA club that selected him second overall in the 2019 draft.

A big man did make a move, but it was Croatian centre Ivica Zubac, who was sent from the Los Angeles Clippers along with Kobe Brown to the Indiana Pacers for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks and a second-rounder, ESPN reported.

In his 10th NBA campaign, Zubac is coming off a 2024-25 season where he had career highs of 16.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game.

The Pacers add a replacement for Myles Turner, lost last July in free agency, who can partner with Tyrese Haliburton next season when the guard returns from a torn right Achilles tendon.

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Philadelphia 76ers superstar Paul George was recently suspended for 25 games by the NBA for violating the league’s Anti-Drug Program. While this is undoubtedly a controversial matter, the statement released by George following his suspension has raised some eyebrows.

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The New York Knicks, fueled by 42 points from Jalen Brunson, edged the Denver Nuggets 134- 127 in a double overtime thriller on Wednesday to push their NBA winning streak to eight games.

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Houston Rockets center Steven Adams will miss the rest of the NBA season after surgery on his left ankle, the team said Wednesday.

The 32-year-old New Zealander, who was drafted 12th overall in 2013 by the Oklahoma City Thunder, was injured in a January 18 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, coming down awkwardly after rising to guard Zion Williamson at the basket.

“Adams is expected to make a full recovery but will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season,” the Rockets said in a statement.

Adams was enjoying a resurgent season after recovering from a knee injury that hindered him over the three prior campaigns. He averaged 5.8 points and 8.6 rebounds in 32 games this season, helping the Rockets establish themselves as the league’s top-rebounding team with 49 per game.

The Rockets will now turn to Clint Capela to back up star center Alperen Sengun.

The Rockets had already lost guard Fred VanVleet to a torn knee ligament in September.

They go into their game against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday with a 28-16 record, fourth in the Western Conference but just two games behind the second-placed Spurs.

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LeBron James will reunite with US Olympic team-mates Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry as in a potent NBA All-Star game line-up announced on Tuesday.

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The Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 36 points from Tyrese Maxey and a triple-double from Joel Embiid, beat the Houston Rockets 128-122 in an NBA overtime thriller on Thursday.

The Cameroonian big man Embiid scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 10 assists, posting the ninth triple-double of his career to help the Sixers end the Rockets’ three- game winning streak.

Rockets star Kevin Durant scored 36 points, and Amen Thompson added 17, but Thompson was scoreless in the fourth quarter.

Even so, the Rockets led by nine midway through the final frame, Maxey tying it at 115-115 with 40.1 seconds left.

Durant missed a potential go-ahead basket, then blocked a Maxey shot as they went to overtime, the Sixers arguing for a goaltending call that would have sealed a win for them, but didn’t come.

Philadelphia opened the extra session with five straight points and held on for a win punctuated by a Maxey dunk.

“We locked in,” Embiid said. “Obviously, it starts on defence. We played faster; we didn’t walk the ball up. At the end of the fourth and overtime, we executed.”

Embiid said Philadelphia did a better job guarding Durant in the second half.

“Obviously, it’s KD,” he said.

“I told the guys at half-time in the first half, it was too easy for him.

“I just told them we needed to lock in and kind of shrink the floor, and then we did a better job of that in the second half.” In Dallas, Naji Marshall scored 30 points and handed out nine assists to lead the Mavericks to a fourth straight victory, 123-115 over the Golden State Warriors.

Rookie Cooper Flagg and Max Christie added 21 points apiece for the Mavericks, who withstood a 38-point performance from Warriors star Stephen Curry, including eight three- pointers.

The Warriors have lost two straight since losing Jimmy Butler for the season with a torn knee ligament.

Jonathan Kuminga, pressed into service due to Butler’s injury, scored 10 points for the Warriors before departing in the second quarter after hyperextending his left knee.

There is more uncertainty for the Warriors and Kuminga, who had reportedly demanded a trade after being benched for 16 games by coach Steve Kerr. The Chicago Bulls welcomed the return of Australian point guard Josh Giddey with a 120-115 victory over the Timberwolves in Minnesota.

Giddey, sidelined since December 20 with a hamstring injury, came off the bench to score 21 points.

Julius Randle led all scorers with 30 points for Minnesota as T’Wolves star Anthony Edwards finished with 20, connecting on just nine of his 25 attempts from the field.