BASKETTBALL

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Even though Bam Adebayo delivered the second-highest scoring game in history with his 83 points, not everyone is pleased. Yet, it’s hard to understand why anyone would downplay one of the decade’s greatest achievements.

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Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum could make his NBA season debut on Friday, less than 10 months after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon in last year’s playoffs.

Tatum was upgraded from “out” to “questionable” on Boston’s official injury report ahead of Friday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. Tatum has been making steady progress, including practicing with the Celtics’ G League affiliate in February, but he and the team had shied away from giving a timeline for his return.

Tatum was carried off the court in the fourth quarter of game four of the Celtics’ Eastern Conference semi-finals loss to the New York Knicks and had surgery on May 13th.

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Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry, who has missed the team’s past 15 games with a bruised right knee, will miss at least another 10 days, the NBA team announced on Wednesday.

Doctors re-evaluated Curry’s bone bruising and patella-femoral pain syndrome and said Curry is making good progress in recovering and will be examined again in 10 days.

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Portuguese player Neemias Queta is having a breakout season in the NBA, setting personal records across all statistical categories, including a career-high 27 points on Sunday for the Boston Celtics.

In his fifth NBA season, the 26-year-old Portuguese center has become a starter for the Celtics, where he is now in his third year. He has become a key factor in Boston’s impressive campaign, with the team currently sitting second in the Eastern Conference. At the start of the season, there were plenty of doubts, especially after Jayson Tatum’s injury and the departure of several important players.

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Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo recorded 83 points during Tuesday’s win over the Washington Wizards, surpassing the late Kobe Bryant for the second-most points in a game in NBA history.

Adebayo reached the milestone with a pair of free throws late in the fourth quarter to officially surpass Bryant, who scored 81. It all started in the first quarter when Adebayo outscored the entire Wizards team 31-29.

The record now stands as his alone after he surpassed LeBron James for the most points ever in a single quarter in Miami Heat franchise history, also surpassing Bryant’s record of 30 points for the fifth-most in a quarter in NBA history.

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Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been cleared to return for the Oklahoma City Thunder after missing nine straight games with an abdominal strain.

Gilgeous-Alexander was not on the official injury report for Friday’s game against the Denver Nuggets and will be available to play for the defending champions, who went 5-4 in his absence. Since Gilgeous-Alexander was hurt in a February 3 victory over Orlando the Thunder’s lead atop the Western Conference has been cut to two games by the San Antonio Spurs, who went into Thursday on a 10-game winning streak.

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Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic has been fined $50,000 (£37,200) for an “inappropriate and unprofessional” gesture toward a referee in Sunday’s win over the New York Knicks, the NBA said Tuesday.

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Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden fractured his thumb against the New York Knicks and is questionable to play their next game, the team said Wednesday.

The news comes as a blow to the in-form Cavs, who acquired former NBA Most Valuable Player Harden this month and have won six of seven games since. “Cavaliers guard James Harden injured his right thumb in last night’s 109-94 win over New York,” said a team statement.

“A postgame examination by the Cavaliers’ medical staff, followed by X-rays taken today, confirmed a non-displaced fracture of the distal phalanx.”