Luke Walton said that the Los Angeles Lakers convinced LeBron James to shut the rest of his season down due to injury concerns.

"He wants to play. My understanding from the medical staff, they finally said, 'Look, it's just not worth it anymore. Let's make sure you have a healthy summer.' So that's the decision that was made, and we'll move forward without him on the floor for the final six," said Walton.

Walton added that James was too competitive to shut down his season after the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs.

"Well, I think that goes back to him wanting to compete. Even though it's over, he wants to be out there playing with his guys. Eventually, as that time goes on and on, it's easier to tell someone like that, 'Let's take care of your health right now.' So that's kind of how the decision came," said Walton.

Jimmy Butler said that the Philadelphia 76ers were locked in following their win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.

“We can do something special. We talk about it every single day. Everything we do, we’re locked in, focused. We know what we can do. We know what paper says we can do. We know what people expect us to do. Name it. We got to be the ones to go out there and do it. And the crazy thing is, I know that we’re capable of doing it,” said Butler.

Butler added that there was no lingering animosity between him and the Timberwolves' organization.

“It’s basketball, bruh. I’ve still got a pretty decent relationship with a lot of guys over there. I don’t think nobody is going to take nothing personal. I’m cool with that. I’m a 76er right now, and we’re going to take it that way moving forward. I wish everybody the best of luck. I wish everybody the best of health. It is what it is.”

Jimmy Butler had 12 points and 13 rebounds in his first game back in Minnesota since getting traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers defeated the Timberwolves 118-109.

Butler was booed every time he touched the ball.

"I don't care about being loved all the time. It's no fun that way," said Butler. 

Brett Brown added that Butler thrives under pressure. 

"He thrives under blankets of controversy. I greatly respect it, and I think when you look at the high-level competitors, it is part of their DNA. It is certainly part of his DNA."

The Golden State Warriors criticized the refs following their 131-130 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

They were especially critical of a call made when they were down 130-127 with 4.4 seconds in overtime. Kevin Durant received an inbounds pass, quickly turned, and hit a 3. Ref Marat Kogut whistled for a foul on Keita Bates-Diop, saying it came before the act of shooting.

"Did I think it was before the shot? I just watched the replay. He caught and he shot -- it's a four-point play. I mean, I don't know what else to say. Kind of mind-boggling. You catch and you go up for a shot, and you get fouled in any league -- any league -- that's a good bucket and a free throw. Any league, not just the NBA," said Kerr.

Steph Curry hit a 3 on the following sequence to tie the game as several Warriors players pointed at Kogut.

The refs then whistled Kevin Durant for a foul with 0.5 seconds off the ensuing inbounds play. Karl-Anthony Towns hit 1 of 2 free throws to win the game.

When asked which call was worse, Curry responded "you'd have to ask the MVP of tonight. Marat Kogut."

"Marat was his name? He was the best player on the floor tonight. He made sure that -- he's so good with his whistle that he knew they were gonna foul me, and he called it right before I shot the ball. So he's one of the greatest refs of all time," added Durant.

Rajon Rondo held a players-only meeting in Memphis in late February with the goal of finding "a better understanding of one another."

The meeting followed LeBron James' comments from the previous night after a loss against the Pelicans, when he asked "How many know what's at stake if you've never been there?" in the post-game interview.

Several of his teammates criticized James' body language, including slumped shoulders and sideways glances.

James admitted that he was working on improving his body language. 

The Lakers went 2-10 over their next 12 games following the meeting. 

2,000 Slovenia fans watched the Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks 105-99 as Luka Doncic and Goran Dragic went head-to-head for the first time in the NBA.

"It felt like we were in Ljubljana,'' said Erik Spoelstra of the atmosphere.

Dragic recorded a triple-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. Doncic finished with 19 points.

"To buy a ticket, to fly from a different continent here and to stay here and support us, it's something amazing,'' said Dragic, who went back out after the game to address the crowd.

Doncic admitted he was nervous playing in front of his hometown fans.

"It was great. Honestly maybe for the first time in my career I was nervous before the game. It was different for me, but it was a special night," said Doncic.

The win also moved the Heat back into the 8th and final playoff spot.

The San Antonio Spurs retired Manu Ginobili's jersey in an emotional, 25-minute ceremony.

"I'm telling you, I'm one of the lucky ones. I've been dealt amazing cards. I just had to play them OK. That was all I had to do," said Ginobili.

Ginobili's former teammates and coaches, including Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Gregg Popovich, all paid tribute to his legacy and impact on foreign players in the league.

"He showed the folly of me trying to coach him too much...In the beginning, he was like a mustang out in the field someplace. That's how he lived his life on the court. He was fearless, wild and did things that won games. So when I step back and look at, 'Manu, I think that pass could have been a little bit better.' That's a pretty inane comment when he just did seven other things to help us win the game. So I basically learned to zip it as his career progressed. He's someone that his constant activity would try your patience at times. But over time, you realize that he was gonna get a lot more done by just playing and didn't really need a whole lot of instruction from me," said Popovich.

Boris Diaw added that Ginobili brought a new way of playing to the NBA.

"He was the first one, I think, playing this way and bringing a different type of basketball when everybody was kind of playing the same way. Manu brought something new, something different, and a lot of young guys looked at him and tried to copy it and saw that it was working. I think the guys that we see now, of course, are those young guys from years ago."

The Boston Celtics banned a fan for the rest of this season and next season for yelling a racial slur at DeMarcus Cousins.

The incident took place when the Warriors visited Boston in January. Cousins told Celtics security that the fan "muttered the n-word." The fan was then removed from the stadium.

The Warriors were recently notified of the punishment. 

Kevin Durant scored 28 points by shooting 12-13 from the field, turning in the most efficient scoring performance of his career as the Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 118-103.

"My second year in the league. I started charting my shots and makes and misses throughout the game. That kind of reminded me to take good shots and it keeps me locked in on the flow of the game. So I guess it's a game within a game," said Durant.

Durant is 17-19 from the field in his last two games.

"The game's easy for Kevin. It just is. I don't think there's ever been anybody as skilled at his size in the history of the league, so he just does whatever he wants," added Steve Kerr.

Ben Simmons emerged as the most desired player from the current sophomore class to build a team around, according to a survey taken among 18 NBA executives and coaches.

The survey asked voters to rank Simmons, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, and De'Aaron Fox based on who they'd want for the long-term. Mitchell, Tatum, and Fox rounded out the list, in that order.

Simmons' lack of shooting ability continued to divide votes, as he received half of the first-place votes and 6 third-place votes.

Mitchell received the most even distribution between first and second place votes.