Tar Heels in NBA: Johnson celebrates birthday with 20 points as Nets rally to upset Celtics; Barnes, Anthony and Bullock all have big games in wins

Cameron Johnson and Harrison Barnes each scored 20 points, and Cole Anthony hit 16 as all three earned victories Friday night after Reggie Bullock scored 15 in a Thursday win. Johnson scored 17 points in the second half as Brooklyn rallied from a 28-point deficit for a surprising 115–105 road win over Boston on his 27th birthday.

Playing Duke a third time? UNC women say they are can’t wait for the challenge

GREENSBORO — Days after No. 18 North Carolina finished off a regular-season sweep of Duke, the two will go at it again. Carolina junior Alyssa Ustby wouldn’t want it any other way, as the rivals will face off at 6 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum.

UNC rides hot-shooting first half, ousts Clemson to earn third meeting with Duke

GREENSBORO — Carolina shot itself into a third battle with Duke behind one of the Tar Heels’ best perimeter shooting halves of the season. Related: It’s good for No. 18 UNC to have the inside-outside combination of Eva Hodgson and Alyssa Ustby back.

Carolina likely to play during evening session Wednesday at ACC men’s tournament

Carolina could be seeded 6th, 7th or 8th next week at the ACC men’s basketball tournament. That won’t get settled until Saturday, but it looks likely that the Tar Heels will play during the evening session of the second round at the Greensboro Coliseum on Wednesday.

Videos: Hubert Davis, Leaky Black press conferences ahead of Duke game

Here what Coach Hubert Davis and Leaky Black had to say ahead of UNC’s home finale Saturday against Duke on senior day.

Tar Heels just need average perimeter shooting to win, space out the floor

After Carolina made 47.1% of its 3-point attempts in the last two victories, there was a misconception among some fans that the Tar Heels have to shoot that well to keep winning. The reality is that average shooting from outside the arc has created enough spacing to help UNC win all season.

Tar Heels in NBA: Season-highs for Johnson, Anthony, who combine to score 61 points but their teams combine to lose by 46; White hits 14

Cameron Johnson and Cole Anthony had their best scoring games of the season on a night that they were one of the few bright spots in their teams’ blowout road losses. Both had season-highs for points and field goals and their second-best game scores, along with frustration over the results of their games.

Injuries made season challenging but turned UNC into ACC’s deepest women’s team

When the No. 18 Carolina women play Thursday in the second round of the ACC Tournament, it will only be the third game this season with their top 11 players. That made the journey for Coach Courtney Banghart’s fourth Tar Heels team challenging. But, along the way, it developed depth that has made UNC one of the most versatile teams heading into the event at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Tar Heels in NBA: Barnes scores 29, leads Kings to fourth straight win; Johnson, Bullock have good games

Without Sacramento’s leading scorer De’Aaron Fox, Kings coach Mike Brown made Harrison Barnes the focal point of their offense on Tuesday night, and the 11-year veteran took advantage of the opportunity. Barnes came through with 29 points, four 3-pointers, nine rebounds, three assists and a 24.2 game score as Sacramento won at Oklahoma City 123–117 for the Kings’ fourth consecutive victory coming out of the All-Star break.

UNC moves up in NET, but most projections still don’t have Heels in men’s field

After three consecutive ACC victories, North Carolina is up to 45th in the NET rankings and improving its NCAA tournament resume with Selection Sunday a week from Sunday. The Tar Heels (19–11, 11–8 ACC) have done what they can control with wins over Notre Dame, Virginia and Florida State and have a chance for their second Quad 1 win Saturday at home against Duke, which is 24th in the NET rankings.