標籤: inspired

MIAMI – As the buzz around the Miami Heat is that Bam Adebayo made history Tuesday by scoring 83 points, the second-highest scoring game ever in the NBA, surpassing Kobe Bryant’s 81 points, there’s no doubt he made an impact. Whatever the effect of the social media discussion surrounding the “ethics” of the Heat captain’s 83-point night, it was felt during the team’s 112-105 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.

The win over the Bucks is Miami’s seventh straight, the longest of the season for the team, and comes after Adebayo had a historic night against the Wizards on Tuesday. Adebayo was clearly and obviously gassed in the contest, though he still finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.

Erik Spoelstra called outing vs. Bucks “one of our more impressive wins”

However, Adebayo’s performance was “inspirational”, as said by head coach Erik Spoelstra, leading to a dominant win over Milwaukee led by a standout performance from Pelle Larsson, which included a career-high 28 points.

“I thought it was one of our most impressive wins of the season,” Spoelstra said. “Going into this, you want to make sure your emotional and mental batteries are recharged. But it’s quite natural that there are some things where you don’t get enough juice. And for what we talked about in our meeting and walk-through, we need some guys to step up, maybe bring some Motivators, you know, inspire motivators.”

Erik Spoelstra was asked about the Heat’s gutsy win, especially after an emotional game on Tuesday, and he talked about Pelle Larsson and Kaspars Jaksionis.

“I thought it was one of our most impressive wins of the season…they were both awesome…” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/MukvJbWh6K

– Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) 13 March 2026

Spoelstra would call it a “very good team win”, while acknowledging that Miami was not as “impressive offensively”, possibly due to Tuesday’s emotionally draining night. Still, the Heat would look to hold the Bucks defensively, although Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points.

Adebayo and the Heat look to get back on track and make things happen on Saturday night against the Orlando Magic.

The Rising Stars event on NBA All-Star Weekend gives fans a chance to see some of the league’s top young players, from star rookies to second-year standouts. The event has also grown to include G League standouts, but has always featured two-way contract players and assignment players. This season, Sean East II was the only non-NBA G League player to compete at All-Star Weekend.

A career game for Sean East II 🔥🌟 East finished with a career-high 39 PTS, 14 FGM and shot 63% from beyond the arc. @slcstars 🎯 pic.twitter.com/hzMTD8n4P1

– NBA G League (@nbagleague) 23 February 2026

East was a member of Team Austin, coached by former NBA player Austin Rivers. He played a little more than seven minutes, finishing with two points, one rebound and one assist as Team Austin was eliminated in the early rounds. East was also selected to play in the G League Next Up game, which featured some of the best players in the G League throughout the season.

For him, attending All-Star Weekend and sharing the court with some of the best young players in the NBA was an incredible experience. East grew up watching the All-Star Game, and still has strong memories of his favorite moments.

“Just watching the fight between Kobe [Bryant] and lebron [James]kyrie [Irving]Everybody, all of them great players. “Watching it with my family on Sunday nights,” East told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “It was good. . .I had to take it all in, it was fun. I wish we could do it again. Had fun. I had fun and I can’t wait to hopefully play one day on Sunday.”

Playing one day in Sunday’s marquee All-Star Game is no easy task. There has yet to be a player who made an NBA All-Star team who debuted in the G League. Players like Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet and Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam have made All-Star teams after spending substantial time playing in the G League.

But in Siakam’s case, he was drafted first by the Toronto Raptors. Along with VanVleet, he immediately joined the Raptors as an undrafted free agent before gaining a foothold in the G League. But aside from All-Star goals, making it to the NBA is actually a realistic option for the East.

He has been performing poorly in the G League this season, and has already attracted the attention of NBA teams.

“I’m getting a little buzz regarding a two-way contract,” East said. “But we’ll see. I’ll keep doing the work I do and hopefully the call-up comes soon.”

After going undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft, East signed with the Los Angeles Lakers for the Summer League. He played with the Lakers team in both the California Classic and Las Vegas, averaging 6.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

East finished playing in Canada with the CEBL (Canadian Elite Basketball League), and set the league record for most points in a season with 546. This year, he joined the Utah Jazz for training camp, but was one of the final cuts before the start of the season.

Since being waived, East has been playing with the Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. This is his first official foray into the G League as a professional, and the competition has been equal so far.

“It’s good competition. It’s definitely not the NBA, but it’s a good mix of players who played in the NBA and the G League,” East said. “It’s pretty solid competition. Everyone is definitely trying to get to the NBA.”

In his first full season in the G League, East appeared in 44 games for Salt Lake City. He averaged 19.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 51.3 percent from the field, 40.3 percent from the 3-point line and 75.5 percent from the free-throw line.

He is now firmly on the radar of NBA teams, and it would not be surprising if he is signed to a two-way contract, at least, until next season. He has shown that he can be a capable scoring threat, while also being able to quarterback an offense and be a playmaking guard. But until that call-up comes, East is just enjoying the newfound attention.

“It’s just a dream come true,” East said. “So I just want to continue living it.”

When Shayne Gostisbeer got injured against the Edmonton Oilers, a different issue arose besides the fact of losing their most aggressive defenceman.

Once again, they had lost a key contributor to their power play in a top unit quarterback.

However, it appeared that this time, the Carolina Hurricanes coaching staff tried something new, as they added Gostisbehere’s linemate, Alexander Nikishin, to the top power play unit as a quarterback.

The change comes as Nikishin’s defensive play has stepped up significantly in recent games, and it was nice to see the 24-year-old rookie given an extra level of responsibility – even if experimental.

Nikishin achieved a lot in the top unit

In Tuesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, he handled things decently. Of course, there were some issues here and there that he wants to improve on, but this was a welcome contribution overall, if only to give him additional experience on the defensive, play-making side of power play forechecking.

And it worked in the Hurricanes’ favor on the scoresheet. With the top unit on the two-man advantage, Nikishin blasted a spectacular snap shot on a brilliant play – a goal that gave the Hurricanes a chance to breathe, and ultimately the all-important goal to pull them through sixty minutes as the Penguins pushed back and sent them to overtime.

Additionally, the goal also put him in the Hurricanes history books, as with his ninth goal of the season, he passed Justin Faulk for most goals by a rookie defenseman. The franchise record had remained untouched since it was set in the 2011–12 season.

In their words (with some help)

After the game, Nikishin talked about his experience on the top power play unit with the help of fellow-Russian Andrei Svechnikov, who served as a translator.

“He said we put all the power play mistakes on him,” Svechnikov said after the game, helping his Russian teammate.

“So, he’s a little bit crazy.”

They discussed things a bit more, as Nikishin provided a detailed answer to the question.

“He said, obviously, it’s a joke,” he clarified through Svechnikov. “But it feels good, you know, playing on the power play first, and you have to expect everything, because all the passes can come from anywhere and you just have to anticipate and focus there.”

Nikishin also talked about the record broken with a power play goal.

“Apparently, it pleases him,” Svechnikov said. “Just making history, it’s special, and he’ll never forget it.”

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNote. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay

Few buildings in the world have become as iconic as the original Fabulous Forum, now known as the Kia Forum or simply “The Forum”, playing host to countless legends during its years of operation. Attracting stars from all over Los Angeles and hosting the Los Angeles Lakers, fans were always looking forward to a show whenever they attended the Forum. Nike will release a new Kobe 3 sneaker paying homage to the magical moments and unmistakable atmosphere of the venue.

Check out our sneakers news for more upcoming releases and breaking content!

The Forum opened in 1967 in Inglewood, California as an architectural marvel of its time and immediately became one of the most recognized indoor venues in the world. The arena featured the Los Angeles Lakers throughout the “Showtime Lakers” era, with the Los Angeles Kings and Wayne Gretzky also gracing the ice.

The Lakers notably moved to Staples Center in 1999, but not before Kobe Bryant was able to play his first three seasons (1996, 1997, 1998) on the same floor as legends like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during their iconic careers. Paying homage to that early “Mamba magic,” the pair are inspired by the lights that illuminated the Forum during its heyday.

Nike Kobe 3 Low “Mamba Magic”

Early Look: The Nike Kobe 3 Low Protro “Forum” is inspired by the pink lights that surround the field 🐍

📸: @dchatlani pic.twitter.com/kMfEp9w5oM

– Complex Sneakers (@ComplexSneakers) 25 February 2026

Detailed Look: Nike Kobe 3 Low Protro “Forum” 🐍🏀

📸: (IG) sam_tabak pic.twitter.com/faRvle4jvH

– Complex Sneakers (@ComplexSneakers) 25 February 2026

First Look: Nike Kobe 3 Low Protro “Mamba Magic” 🪄🐍

Release details: https://t.co/RNLVWJZscw pic.twitter.com/97DeR9nmJ6

– Sneaker Bar Detroit (@SBDetroit) 25 February 2026

Based on an updated Nike Kobe 3 Low silhouette, the colorway has been identified as Doll/Pink Foam/White To simulate light pink lighting around the forum. We see a lavender purple hue on the rubber webbed upper, which appears slightly translucent to match the lighter shade of the outsole. A black line along the midsole leads into the rear heel plate, matching the black sockliner.

While the look is still limited, we see chrome Nike branding throughout and the Mamba tongue logo. The laces and tongue are dressed in White mesh to provide further contrast, completing the overall palette for this interesting colorway.

We’re still awaiting an official release date, but the Nike Kobe 3 Low “Mamba Magic” is expected to drop sometime during the Spring of 2026. Expect an online release via Nike SNKRS as well as more stock at select Nike locations.