BASKETTBALL

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Darius Garland (25) celebrated his call-up to the NBA All-Star game with a 26-point display as the Cleveland Cavaliers buried the Atlanta Hawks 137-115 to extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference on Thursday. Garland was one of seven Cleveland players to finish in double figures as the Cavs' balanced offence overwhelmed Atlanta to claim their 39th victory of the season.

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Tyrese Maxey scored 43 points to lead the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers to a 118-104 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday as the surging Houston Rockets pulled off a tense 100-96 win over Atlanta. With Joel Embiid missing his 12th straight game and Paul George sidelined with a finger injury, Maxey stepped up and the Sixers won their third straight.

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San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (21) and Boston guard Jaylen Brown (28) were among 14 players named on Thursday as reserves for next month's NBA All-Star Game in San Francisco. This makes Wemby the youngest player in Spurs history to make the All-Star team. Guards and frontcourt players were named from both the Eastern and Western conferences for the February 16th event, with the bench talent chosen by NBA coaches from their conference.

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Amen Thompson (21) drove for the game-winner with 1.3 seconds left to lift the Houston Rockets to a gritty 114-112 victory over the NBA champion Boston Celtics on Monday. After two victories over Eastern Conference leaders Cleveland last week, the Rockets held on to topple another Eastern power, surrendering an early 11-point advantage but clawing back after the Celtics took a 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

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Donovan Mitchell (28) scored 34 points to lead the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers to a 126-106 NBA victory over Miami on Wednesday, maintaining their Eastern Conference lead over reigning champions Boston. Darius Garland, averaging 21.7 points per game for the Cavs, was held out to rest while Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro remained sidelined by injuries.

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Two-time All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas signed with the Utah Jazz G League affiliate team, Salt Lake City Stars, on Monday. Thomas hasn't started a game for an NBA team since he was on the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2021-2022 season.

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NBA commissioner Adam Silver raised the possibility that the US basketball league could someday switch from 12-minute to 10-minute quarters to court a changing television audience and align with international rules.

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Jimmy Butler, the six-time NBA All-Star, has been suspended indefinitely by the Miami Heat due to what the team describes as a "continued pattern of disregard for team rules." The 35-year-old forward had already been suspended twice this month for disciplinary reasons, missing nine games in total. The latest suspension follows his decision to walk out of a team practice on Friday, with the Heat confirming the ban is without pay and will last for at least five games.