MARK DAIGNEAULT

Grizzlies Warriors Basketball Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins watches during the first half of his team's NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. There was only one other person in the room — and Jones had no idea who the person was. “Am I in Brooklyn’s locker room?” Jones asked. He was serving as interim coach for the Grizzlies' game against the Los Angeles Clippers after Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins went into the league’s health and safety protocols Saturday morning. Jenkins was fully involved in Saturday’s game plan, Jones said, noting they spoke several times that morning alone.

Another NBA head coach has entered the league's health and safety protocols.

The NBA postponed Golden State's game with Denver on Thursday, the same day that Philadelphia’s Doc Rivers and Denver’s Michael Malone entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) (Sue Ogrocki)Kyrie Irving is a step closer to making his season debut. The Eastern Conference-leading Brooklyn Nets announced Tuesday that Irving, along with Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge, have cleared the NBA's health and safety protocols — a major step toward getting them back on the court. Atlanta added three players to its list of those in the protocols, giving the Hawks 13 currently dealing with a virus-related issue. Daigneault was ruled out from coaching the Thunder game Tuesday against Sacramento. That should mean some players who are on the current protocols list could be back on the floor quicker than first planned.

Kyrie Irving is a step closer to making his season debut.

His right-handed dunk gave the Grizzlies a 145-67 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder with 3:02 left and a new franchise record for points in a game. Their 152-79 win over the Thunder shattered the NBA record for the largest margin of victory. But it’s awesome.”The 73-point margin easily topped the previous mark, which was Cleveland’s 68-point win over Miami. The Grizzlies outscored the Thunder by 15 points in each of the four quarters. Tonight was on pretty full display both offensively and defensively.”It was the third straight game the Grizzlies have led from start to finish.

Domantas Sabonis had a triple-double in the first half and the Indiana Pacers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 152-95 in the largest home loss in NBA history.

(AP Photo/Michael Wyke)HOUSTON – Mired in a long losing streak, the Houston Rockets twice put the ball in John Wall's hands in the waning moments. The Rockets lost their team-record 20th straight game, falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-112 Sunday when Wall missed two shots in the final 10 seconds. This one hurts.”Dort scored 23 points and Isaiah Roby had 18 for the Thunder, who led by as many as 13 points. They shot a sizzling 14 of 21 on 3s in the second quarter, however, and Oklahoma City led 66-62 at halftime. The Rockets hit a franchise-record 28 3s in a win against the Thunder on Feb. 1, just three days before their last win.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots between Chicago Bulls guard Garrett Temple (17) and forward Lauri Markkanen during overtime of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)OKLAHOMA CITY – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a career-high 33 points and 10 assists to help Oklahoma City beat the Chicago Bulls and former Thunder coach Billy Donovan 127-125 in overtime Friday night. Donovan knew all too well how good Oklahoma City can be under challenging circumstances. ... Oklahoma City scored 19 points off Chicago's nine turnovers in the third quarter. ... Oklahoma City shot 56% in the third quarter and outscored the Bulls 37-27.

The NBA is urging teams to make increased commitments toward providing mental health resources to players and staff, releasing updated guidelines Wednesday to reflect the challenge of playing amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The NBA has mandated that teams offer access to mental health professionals in recent seasons — a program the league calls Mind Health was launched nearly three years ago — but that obviously predates the pandemic and how countless aspects of day-to-day life has changed in recent months. Those are a few of the ways the NBA has changed amid the virus. “All this is a little bit like the Twilight Zone,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about the mental strain of playing amid a pandemic. “The usage of mental health tools and support platforms has increased as have the modalities to assist those in need.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Darius Bazley had a season-high 19 points, George Hill scored 13 of his 18 points in the third quarter and the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the second half of a 108-99 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday. The Magic were routed 116-92 by Philadelphia on New Year’s Eve and lost on Saturday after making just 37% of their shots. That allowed the Thunder to outscore the Magic 24-17 over the final 12 minutes to break open a close game. Horford drilled a straight-on 3-pointer with 50 seconds to play, sending the Thunder on their way to the second road victory of the season. Magic: Orlando entered Saturday last in the league in 3-point attempts (26.8) and makes (8.8) per game.

The Lakers, who beat Miami to win the championship Oct. 11, start the new season against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night. Also on Wednesday, Chicago beat Oklahoma City 124-103, and Portland played at Denver. BULLS 124, THUNDER 103At Oklahoma City, the Bulls took control in the second quarter and didn’t let up. LaVine scored 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the first quarter while Gilgeous-Alexander scored 11 for Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City couldn’t get into a flow, but part of that was because first-year coach Mark Daigneault gave minutes to 13 players.