Imagn
Suns
Jalen Green had just gotten back. Now he is right back to the injury report.
Green tweaked that same right hamstring again in the first quarter of Saturday’s win over the Clippers.
He pulled up on a drive in the final minute of the quarter and immediately felt it. Trainers helped him off. He was ruled out not long after.
He had already missed the Suns’ first eight games because of this exact hamstring. He hurt it in camp. He hurt it again on the preseason trip to China.
Thursday vs. the Clippers was his debut. Seven minutes into his second game he was done again. He finished with two points.
Phoenix got him from Houston in the Kevin Durant blockbuster. They want him to be a scorer and a slasher alongside Devin Booker.
They still might get that version. But this is not the ideal reset.
Hamstrings are tricky. Phoenix will take this slow.
Spurs
De’Aaron Fox finally made it back for San Antonio. And he did not tiptoe into it.
He hit the dagger. He hit the floater with 29 seconds left that sealed a 126-119 win over the Pelicans on Saturday. He scored 24 in 27 minutes in his first game since March 12.
“I mean, I am good at basketball,” Fox told reporters with a smile. “So you can still have rust and be able to do that.”
The Spurs have been waiting for this. Stephon Castle said the team has wanted this since the summer.
“We have been waiting for Fox to get back,” Castle said. “You see how much of a help offensively he is for us. It is only up from here.”
It is also only the sixth time Fox has been paired with Victor Wembanyama. He said Wemby is already a gravity creator like the elite shooters.
“He is one of those guys like Steph Curry,” Fox said. “There is not a lot of people like that. Vic opens it up for everybody.”
Eight Spurs scored in double figures. Wembanyama had 18 points and 18 boards. Castle added 14 points and 14 assists.
The Spurs believe this pairing is their future. Saturday was the first real glimpse of what it could look like when Fox is himself.
Cavaliers
The Cavaliers beat the Bulls on Saturday, but this was more than a result. It was a night with a little bit of everything.
We saw De’Andre Hunter break an ankle. We saw Sam Merrill run point like he was back at Utah State. We saw Evan Mobley spark the entire second half. And we saw Donovan Mitchell close the door.
Hunter’s double crossover on Josh Giddey was ridiculous. Giddey limped to the locker room, came back, finished the game and handled it professionally. But Hunter owned the moment.
Merrill was the early surprise. He threw four assists in the first quarter. He slipped pocket passes to Jarrett Allen three straight trips. He even dropped a lob in transition.
“He always tells me he was a point guard in college,” coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters. “He is creating advantages in the paint and doing more. It reminds me of Joe Harris in Brooklyn.”
The ugly part was the first half defense. Chicago shot 10-of-14 from three. And when Cleveland missed, the Bulls ran. They had 19 fastbreak points before halftime.
“At some point the shooting was just too poor,” Atkinson said. “So when you are constantly missing and constantly running back you are going to get hurt.”
Mobley steadied the second half. Twelve straight points either scored or assisted. Then Mitchell finished it. He had three points at halftime. He ended with 29.
Cleveland scored 72 in the second half. It felt like something close to a Cavalanche. Four straight wins for this group.
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