The Kings again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

BURNING THE BARNS: The Kings and Mavericks played one crazy game on Tuesday. Dallas led by four with 48 seconds to go and didn’t miss another shot in regulation. That typically means a win. But Marco Belinelli nailed two threes and DeMarcus Cousins got a buzzer-beating layup. Overtime! Both teams were pretty sloppy there, with Dirk Nowitzki and Seth Curry (!) each missing last-minute go-ahead shots.

Overtime II: The Revenge of Overtime! The Kings went up seven with 1:20 left thanks to Cousins (nine straight points for the Kings) and a Rudy Gay three. They somehow lost, primarily because Darren Collison airballed a shot intended to run out the clock. Had it hit the rim, the game likely would have ended in a two-point Kings win. Instead, it missed the rim, leading to a shot clock violation with 2.5 seconds left. Deron Williams nailed a tough corner three in front of the Kings bench as time expired. Dallas doesn’t really lose close games, does it?

SCORES GALORE ...

NYK 107, ATL 101
MIL 106, CHI 117
SAC 116, DAL 117 (2OT)
GSW 109, LAL 88

SCARED? Paul Flannery and I discuss why the Warriors should be worried about the Spurs. I also casually state that Tim Duncan might be the best big man ever, something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. To be continued ...

BEST ALL-STAR CAMPAIGN EVER: The Pistons cut up a video of President Obama singing a modified version of “Jumpman” by Drake and Future about Andre Drummond. I immediately voted for Drummond 1,000 straight times.

DO THE SHUFFLE: Draymond Green just moving around the pocket without a care in the -- oh yeah, this is basketball.

ACCURATE: Jason Patt writes that Ish Smith makes the Sixers look like an actual basketball team.

THE NEXT LILLARD/MCCOLLUM? Ricky O’Donnell on Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield, who is a senior known for his shooting ability and much more. He dropped 50 on Kansas on Monday (albeit in triple overtime).

HECKLE THIS: DeMarcus Cousins had a lot of fun with hecklers in Oklahoma City the other night.

OH GOOD: Goran Dragic has some thoughts on the Phoenix situation.

R.I.P. PUTBACKS: Zach Lowe on the death of offensive rebounds.

ABOUT RIGHT: 538’s Nate Silver and Kirk Goldsberry aren’t quite sure what to make of Kristaps Porzingis. He could be anything from Yi Jianlian to Dirk. In terms of eye test, I see some Sheed in his style. Anyway, he had a standoff with Kent Bazemore on Tuesday, which led to Desus Nice calling him “Alabaster Ewing.”

WELL, YES: Mitch Kupchak tells Laker faithful that the team can’t move on until Kobe Bryant retires. Does that mean L.A. isn’t going to trade any other non-Kobe veterans this season? The upside is that the Lakers’ non-Kobe veterans don’t have any decent value in my estimation.

HMM: Your boy Danny Leroux wonders if the Clippers should consider trading Chris Paul. I wouldn’t do it without getting a young star (like a Paul George or James Harden) back. Yes, L.A. is staring down the barrel of a Warriors-Spurs gauntlet. But the Clippers know they can beat the Spurs if things break right (they did it, albeit pre-LaMarcus) and they believe they can beat the Warriors. Too risky to pull the plug now. And Doc Rivers doesn’t do rebuilds.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: 1) J.A. Adande is one of the best sportswriters in the country. 2) This piece on LeBron’s stealth progressivism is damn good.

MY HERO: Man gives up on the Lakers mid-game, puts a Warriors jersey over his Lakers jersey at STAPLES Center. Chase happiness!

AAAAH: Old Burger King ads starring pitchman Dell Curry and his young son Stephen!

TONIGHT TONIGHT: Your ESPN doubleheader features Knicks-Heat and Grizzlies-Thunder. Enjoy.

Happy Wednesday. See you next time.