Clippers forward Nicolas Batum nabbed just his fourth start this year on Friday. He helped his club notch a 105-95 win over New York, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Normal starter Derrick Jones Jr. is still grappling with a groin injury.
The 36-year-old Batum, whose season-best 17 points included 5-for-7 shooting deep, noted that his gig as a role player under head coach Tyronn Lue has meant adjusting to a variety of needs night-to-night.
“I mean that was the talk I had with Ty like during the offseason after the Olympics and during training camp,” Batum said. “I mean some games I play 25, some games five minutes, some games I won’t play. “But I knew, like maybe like down the road, like the last 20 games, I might mean more like (in) a game tonight (with) some injury, so I need to be ready to step up.”
The 6’8″ vet is averaging just 17.4 minutes a night this year, his lowest in 17 NBA seasons. All told, Batum is logging 3.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.2 APG and 0.7 SPG during his tenure on the hardwood for the 34-29 Clippers.
There’s more out of California:
- Kings starters Malik Monk and Domantas Sabonis have both been given the green light to return to on-court competition this weekend, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Both will miss Sunday’s clash against the Clippers, while at least Sabonis will sit out a Monday match with the Knicks, too. The three-time All-Star is grappling with a left hamstring strain. Monk has been dealing with a sprained right toe. Jonas Valanciunas has served as Sabonis’ replacement. Keon Ellis has been starting for Monk.
- 34-year-old Kings assistant coach Luke Loucks is set to start his reported new gig as the head coach of Florida State immediately. Per Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL Sacramento (Twitter link), Loucks logged his last game on interim coach Doug Christie‘s Sacramento staff Friday, a 127-109 win over San Antonio. Loucks played under 23-year now-former FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton in college.
- 11-time All-Star Warriors point guard Stephen Curry scored his 25,000th career point against Detroit during a 115-110 win Saturday, Golden State announced in a press statement (via Twitter). Curry, 36, is now just the 10th player in the history of the league to have scored so many points for a single team. Across 55 healthy bouts so far this season, the two-time league MVP is averaging 24.5 points, 6.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.1 steals a night. He’s the best player on an ascendant Golden State squad, which has won nine of its past 10 contests and is currently the West’s No. 6 seed at 36-28 overall.