NBA eyeing Nov. 18 as new draft date
The NBA’s board of governors and general managers will discuss a plan later this week to push the NBA Draft back to Nov. 18, according to a memo sent to teams Wednesday. The Bulls will pick fourth.
In the memo, the league told teams that the Nov. 18 date is based on “initial conversations with the Players Association.” The board of governors and general managers have meetings scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
If it is moved, this would be the second time that the draft — originally set for June 25, then pushed back to Oct. 16 — gets delayed. An additional delay would also allow the league more time to conduct the pre-draft process, including a combine in some form, teams were told in the memo.
The league also said delaying the draft would allow it more time to continue the process of deciding when best to start next season.
Moving the draft would have a domino effect on other offseason league business, such as free agency and the process by which the league and Players Association will determine salary cap numbers for 2020-21.
Raptors survive in 2OT thriller
Exhausted and on the brink, the reigning NBA champions rose to the moment. OG Anunoby — the hero of Game 3 with a buzzerbeating three — put the Raptors ahead to stay with a three-pointer with just under a minute left in double overtime, Kyle Lowry got an acrobatic jumper to fall with 11.7 seconds left and the Raptors beat the Celtics 125-122 in Game 6.
Lowry scored 33 points in 53 minutes. Norman Powell had 23, including a pair of free throws with 5.0 seconds remaining.
Jaylen Brown had 31 points and 16 rebounds for the Celtics, who had their starters on the floor — without a single sub — for the final 22-plus minutes, going back to 23.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Marcus Smart missed a threepointer that would have tied it with about three seconds left in the second overtime.
Clippers up 3-1 on Nuggets
Kawhi Leonard finished an assist shy of his first playoff tripledouble (30 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, four steals and two blocked shots) and the Clippers beat the Nuggets 96-85 in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead in their first Western Conference finals.
After building an 18-point lead in the second quarter, the Clippers saw the Nuggets storm back and tie it at 48 early in the third. The Clippers responded with a 21-5 run to gain some separation.
The Nuggets are in a familiar spot. They were down in their firstround series against Utah before becoming the 12th team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit.