Silas will not return as Rockets coach
Stephen Silas won’t return as coach of the Houston Rockets next season, two people familiar with the decision told the Associated Press on Sunday.
Silas wrapped up his third season with the team when the Rockets beat the Wizards 114-109 to finish the season 22-60. That’s tied with the San Antonio Spurs for the second-worst record in the NBA.
His contract had a fourth-year option that the team is declining to pick up, according to the two people who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the move hadn’t been announced.
One of the people said the 49year-old Silas could remain with the team in an undetermined role.
Silas, speaking to reporters in Washington after the game, said he had a meeting with Rockets officials scheduled for Monday morning but did not confirm that his tenure as Houston’s coach was over. However, he seemed prepared for that likelihood and reflected on his time with the Rockets.
“I feel proud,” he said. “I wanted to be a head coach my whole life. I wanted to be like my dad [longtime NBA player and coach Paul Silas]. Proud of these guys, proud of their hard work, proud of their growth and maturity as they got through the season.”
The Rockets finished with the NBA’s worst record in each of his first two seasons as they traded or released all their established stars to embark on a complete rebuild.
Casey steps down
Pistons coach Dwane Casey stepped down after Detroit’s 103-81 loss to the host Chicago Bulls to end the season.
Casey will move to a role in the franchise’s front office.
The Pistons ended the season with an NBA-worst 17-65 mark and missed the postseason for the fourth consecutive year.
“Hopefully my legacy will be building the foundation with these young guys,” said Casey, a former NBA coach of the year in Toronto. “When you bring in a young team, this league is not very forgiving in terms of wins and losses. I knew that coming in.”
Embiid wins scoring title
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid is the scoring champion for a second consecutive year, averaging 33.1 points per game. His closest pursuers were Dallas’ Luka Doncic (32.4) and Portland’s Damian Lillard (32.2).
This season was the first in NBA history when three players averaged at least 32 points per game. Embiid becomes the 19th player to win multiple scoring championships.
The high-point game this season was 71, done twice — Donovan Mitchell did it for Cleveland against Chicago on Jan. 2, and Lillard did it for Portland against Houston on Feb. 26.
Warriors set record
The Golden State Warriors set an NBA record by scoring 55 points in the first quarter on their way to a 157-101 rout of the host Trail Blazers in their regular-season finale to secure the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
“We’ve played really well the last couple of weeks,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I think we’ve won eight of 10. Today, guys were locked in right from the beginning. Guys knew what was at stake and controlled the game from the opening tap so hopefully that carries over to next week.”
Klay Thompson, who scored 20 points, became the third player in NBA history to make at least 300 three-pointers in a season.
“I pulled Klay aside two minutes before the game and said, ‘Just let it happen,’ ” Kerr said. “He said ‘No problem, Coach’ and then he made five threes in the first five minutes. That’s Klay.”
Etc.
Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges kept alive his ironman streak, starting his 83rd game of the season before committing a foul and immediately checking out after four seconds in the Nets’ 135-105 loss to the visiting 76ers. Bridges was playing only to keep alive his streak of never missing a game in college or the pros. It was his 392nd consecutive game in the NBA and completed his longest regular season yet . ... Udonis Haslem scored 24 points in his final regular-season game in the Miami Heat’s 123-110 win over the visiting Orlando Magic. It was Haslem’s highest-scoring game since he had 28 points Nov. 14, 2009. The 42-year-old checked out for the final time with 58.9 seconds left, getting the last of many ovations that rained down throughout the afternoon.