Celtics' Brogdon voted NBA's Sixth Man of Year

Boston Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year on Thursday as the league's top reserve.

Brogdon, who was acquired in the offseason by the Eastern Conference champion Celtics, received 60 out of 100 first-place votes to edge New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley in voting for the award.

"This is such an honor," Brogdon said in an interview with broadcaster TNT as the award was announced. "It's definitely been a transition for me, coming from Indiana to Boston.

"But I'm with a great organization, I have great teammates, a great coaching staff."

Brogdon became the second player to win both Sixth Man of the Year and Rookie of the Year, joining Mike Miller with that distinction. He was named Rookie of the Year in 2017.

Before he was acquired by the Celtics Brogdon had started every game he played over the previous four seasons with the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks.

This season he came off the bench in all 67 games he played, but said that playing behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown "proven All-Stars and soon-to-be All-NBA guys, it's been a good fit for me."

Brogdon averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game to help Boston finish the regular season with the second-best record in the league behind the Bucks.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Malcolm Brogdon leads Pacers' rally for OT win over Magic

Malcolm Brogdon collected 31 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as the visiting Indiana Pacers rallied for a 122-114 overtime victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

Indiana overcame an 18-point deficit late in the third quarter with a spirited fourth and a dominant performance in overtime.

Tyrese Haliburton dunk to tie the game in OT before he and Buddy Hield each sank 3-pointers to give the Pacers a six-point lead with 1:05 to go.

Indiana avenged a 109-103 setback at Orlando on Monday. Brogdon returned after sitting out that contest, the second night of a back-to-back set, as he works his way back from a right Achilles injury.

Haliburton finished with 21 points, Hield added 17 and Isaiah Jackson made all eight of his shots to contribute 16 points as Indiana salvaged the finale of the three-game season series.

Jalen Smith added 15 points and 15 rebounds off the Indiana bench. He was fined $20,000 by the NBA earlier on Wednesday for directing profane language toward a game official during the Monday game.

Orlando rookie Franz Wagner scored 28 points and Mo Bamba added 19 points and 12 rebounds. Bamba tipped home a rebound with 5.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

Wendell Carter Jr. collected 13 points and 18 rebounds to log his sixth straight double-double for the Magic, who saw their modest two-game winning streak come to a halt.

Orlando held a 91-76 lead after three quarters before Indiana opened the fourth on a 25-8 run. Brogdon scored 11 points during that surge and Haliburton drained a 3-pointer to give the Pacers a 101-99 lead with 4:58 to play.

The Magic appeared to seize control of the game in the third, with Wagner sinking a pair of 3-pointers, two interior baskets and a pair of free throws during Orlando's 18-5 run to begin the quarter.

Bamba enjoyed a fast start by making his first four shots -- including two from 3-point range -- to stake Orlando to a 16-8 lead. The Magic extended their lead to 13 points midway into the second quarter before Oshae Brissett's 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds remaining brought the Pacers within four at halftime.

-reuters

Another solid night for Giannis Antetokounmpo as Bucks trip Jazz

MILWAUKEE  — After not playing at all in the Milwaukee Bucks’ previous game, Thon Maker got a chance to shine in a hard-fought win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.

Maker had a season-high 15 points off the bench for the Bucks, who clamped down on defense in the second half to secure a 114-102 victory.

“We won the game because of him,” said Giannis Antetokounmpo, who led the Bucks with 30 points. “He brought energy, played hard, he made shots. It was just amazing seeing Thon compete hard out there.”

Maker had seen regular minutes off the bench recently with Ersan Ilyasova out with a broken nose. His playing time diminished after Ilyasova’s return and the emergence of second-year player D.J. Wilson.

“That’s when your professionalism comes in,” Maker said. “You’ve just got to stay ready whenever your name is called.”


Maker shot 6 of 8 from the field, including 2 for 3 from beyond the arc.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said Maker’s performance “flipped the script.”

“He made a lot of different things happen on the court,” Budenholzer said. “I really feel like he was a difference-maker tonight.”

Budenholzer specifically pointed to Maker’s three-point play early in the fourth quarter after Utah had made a 3 on the other end.

“He was a spark plug for us,” Brook Lopez said. “He had such great energy and emotion. He got us going, he got the crowd going and everyone on the bench was going. We really fed off him tonight.”

Malcolm Brogdon added 21 points for the Bucks, who were coming off a 123-116 loss to Toronto on Saturday night. Milwaukee improved to 28-11, the second-best record in the NBA.

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost starting point guard Ricky Rubio to a right hamstring injury less than five minutes into the game. He didn’t return.

“We can’t sulk,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got to go out there and compete.”

The Jazz held a three-point advantage heading to the fourth quarter, but Milwaukee grabbed control late after Brogdon’s 3-pointer pushed its lead to 105-99. The Bucks built the margin to eight with about three minutes left on two free throws by Lopez, who nailed a deep 3 about a minute later to give Milwaukee an 11-point cushion and seal the victory.

Antetokounmpo, who grabbed 10 rebounds, fouled out with 42.9 seconds remaining.

After a tightly contested first half, the Jazz opened an 11-point lead early in the third quarter before the Bucks stormed back, taking a lead late in the period when Brogdon hit back-to-back shots. Utah rebounded and led 86-83 heading into the fourth.


The Jazz were up 62-58 at halftime, with Mitchell providing 15 points and Jae Crowder adding 11 off the bench. The first half featured 19 lead changes and eight ties.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

After allowing 62 points in the first half, the Bucks held the Jazz to 40 in the second half.

“We weren’t very happy at halftime with our defense,” Budenholzer said. “The way we improved and got better in the second half gave us a chance to find a way offensively in the fourth quarter.”

Utah scored just 16 points in the fourth quarter.

“We had some open looks,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “We just weren’t able to get them to go.”

STAT LINE

The Bucks scored 68 points in the paint to 36 for the Jazz. Milwaukee also had a 19-2 edge in fast-break points.

BOUNCING BACK

Milwaukee hasn’t lost back-to-back games this season, improving to 11-0 after a loss.

TIP-INS

Jazz: Rubio scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting before exiting. … Gobert had 12 rebounds in the first half, matching his average for a full game this season.

Bucks: Wilson didn’t play due to a left hip pointer. Budenholzer said he is hopeful Wilson will be able to return Wednesday at Houston. … G Donte DiVincenzo sat out with right ankle soreness. “It’s a little bit of a recurring theme,” Budenholzer said. “There wasn’t an incident or twisted ankle or anything like that.” … Milwaukee recalled F Christian Wood from its G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd.

UP NEXT

Jazz: Host the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. Utah has won 12 of the last 16 meetings.

Bucks: At the Houston Rockets on Wednesday as the teams meet for the first time this season.

source: sports.inquirer.net