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James Worthy is one of four coaches for the NBA Rising Stars team and, in a snake draft on Friday night, he picked Cole Anthony as one of the seven players on his team. All four coaches are members of the NBA’s 75th-anniversary team. The others are Rick Barry, Gary Payton and Isiah Thomas.
Harrison Barnes, Coby White and Cameron Johnson all had outstanding games on Thursday but they all came in road losses. Barnes collected 25 points, four rebounds and three assists as Sacramento lost to Golden State 116–114 in the second half of games on back-to-back nights after putting up 19 points in a home win over Brooklyn the night before.
For the second time in three games, Reggie Bullock had his best game in more than three years and continues to turn around a season that was full of frustrations up until a couple of weeks ago. Harrison Barnes and Cole Anthony both had big games to help their teams earn big victories. In an efficient 26 minutes off the bench, Bullock scored a season-high 23 points for the second time in three games with five 3-pointers. He collected eight rebounds and three steals, both tying season-highs, in the Dallas Mavericks’ 120–114 overtime home loss Wednesday to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It was a big day for Cole Anthony but, unfortunately for his Orlando Magic, it didn’t include a victory. After being selected as one of the “sophomores” for the Rising Stars game Feb. 18 in Cleveland during the NBA All-Star Weekend, Anthony — who already was set to compete in the slam-dunk contest — collected 20 points, six rebounds, nine assists and two steals in the Magic’s 126–115 Tuesday road loss to the Chicago Bulls.
There was quite a bit of vitriol from North Carolina fans toward Christian Laettner during his time at Duke and that hasn’t changed over the years. ESPN even produced a 30 for 30 documentary called “I Hate Christian Laettner. Many Tar Heels fans agree with that sentiment but UNC coach Hubert Davis isn’t in that group.
All five UNC alums who played in NBA games Sunday night scored in double figures, with Coby White’s 18 points and Cole Anthony’s 16 points both coming in victories. The Chicago Bulls (31–18) have won three of four after White scored 18 points for the second consecutive game in a 130–116 home victory over Portland.
Reggie Bullock has dealt with struggles and shooting slumps in his first season with the Dallas Mavericks but produced his best game of the season Saturday night. Bullock came off the bench to score 23 points on eight field goals and six 3-pointers, all season-highs, in the Mavericks’ 132–104 home win over the Indiana Pacers.
While Cameron Johnson appears to be back to playing at the high level he reached before missing three games with an ankle injury and Danny Green returned after missing seven games, Nassir Little’s breakout season is likely over. An MRI revealed that Little suffered a left shoulder labral tear late in Tuesday’s loss to Minnesota. Portland didn’t announce a timetable for his return, but a team source told The Oregonian that Little would be out for the season.
Harrison Barnes and Cole Anthony both played well on Wednesday night but, as with many nights with their struggling teams, the efforts came in defeats. One night after scoring four points in one of his worst games of the season, Barnes rebounded with 28 points in the Kings’ 121–104 loss at Atlanta for their fifth consecutive defeat and 10th in a row on the road.
Nassir Little keeps battling injuries but they don’t seem to be slowing him down. He was dealing with a right knee contusion coming into Tuesday’s 109–107 home loss to Minnesota and sprained his left shoulder, appearing to be in a lot of pain, with eight minutes left. Little, who returned briefly in the final minute of the game, finished with 20 points, four 3-pointers, eight rebounds and two assists after scoring 19 points at Portland in his previous game.
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