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Starting 5: Ingram wins it, Shai lifts OKC, Boston cools Detroit

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Starting 5: Ingram wins it, Shai lifts OKC, Boston cools Detroit


Winner, winner, turkey dinner.

Brandon Ingram called game to lift Toronto to 4-0 on the second-to-last night of Emirates NBA Cup Group Play.


5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

Feasting: OKC & Toronto extend win streaks to stay unbeaten in Cup Play

More Streaks: Boston snaps Detroit’s historic heater, Herro lifts Miami to another dub

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Setting The Stage: Three wins create three “win-and-in” Group Play finales on Friday

Roundup: Houston & Memphis pull off late rallies to cap a hectic 9-game slate

Season Of Giving: 20 years of NBA Cares and holiday support across the league


BUT FIRST..

Friday Finale: After a day off to celebrate Thanksgiving, the NBA returns on Friday with an 11-game slate to close Emirates NBA Cup Group Play. 

That includes a Prime doubleheader as the Bucks visit the Knicks (7:30 ET), before the Lakers welcome the Mavs (10 ET).

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1. BEAST STREAKS: OKC IMPROVES TO 18-1, INGRAM CALLS GAME

The Thunder entered Wednesday not only eyeing a crucial Group Play win, but one of the best starts in NBA history.

Standing in their way: Anthony Edwards and the Wolves, eager to avenge last year’s West Finals loss and cut into OKC’s push for more hardware.

But when Minnesota made its run, the champs responded.

Thunder 113, Wolves 105 (West A): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put on an MVP performance (40 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast) to give OKC control, but the Wolves never went away and an Edwards 3 with 1:02 left made it a one-point game.

Twenty-four seconds later, Chet Holmgren (12 pts, 9 reb) answered with a lead-extending triple, and SGA sealed it at the line as OKC never allowed another bucket – closing on an 8-1 run to earn its 10th straight win, improving to 18-1 and 3-0 in Group Play. | Recap

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  • “We knew they were going to fight, give us a challenge,” said SGA postgame. “It took us making plays on both ends of the floor down the stretch to come out with a W – and we did so.”

All-Time Open: The Thunder are just the fifth team ever to start a season 18-1 or better and the second in three decades, joining the 2015-16 Warriors – who finished with the best record in NBA history (73-9).

  • The Other 3? The 1993-94 Rockets, ‘90-91 Blazers and the ‘69-70 Knicks. Houston and New York both won the NBA title that season
  • OKC Identity: It’s Shai’s 16th 30-piece of the season and OKC’s 11th time holding an opponent to 105 points or fewer – both the most in the NBA
  • Elite Execution: Amid the 10-0 run, SGA is averaging 32.0 ppg on 58.2% shooting, while the Thunder are allowing just 101.1 ppg with a +20.9 point differential
  • Where They Stand: Ant led Minnesota (31 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 5 3s), which is eliminated from Cup contention, while OKC can clinch West A with a win over Phoenix on Friday (9:30 ET, League Pass)

Having already clinched East Group A, the red-hot Raptors eyed a 4-0 Group Play finish to boost their odds of homecourt advantage in the Quarterfinals.

With 0.6 seconds left on Wednesday, Brandon Ingram delivered for Jurassic Park.

Raptors 97, Pacers 95 (East A): Tied at 95, Jakob Poeltl blocked Indy’s attempted winner, setting up Ingram’s (26 pts, 8 reb) heroic jumper to complete Toronto’s perfect Group Play and grab its fifth clutch win in its 9-game W streak – now the hottest in the East. | Recap

  • “Just wanted to be super aggressive, and get into my spots,” Ingram said of his game-winner, with the moment reminding him of last shots he’s “seen on TV.”
  • Pitching In: Scottie Barnes (24 pts, 10 reb) and Immanuel Quickley (15 pts, 6 ast) supported Ingram, while season highs from T.J. McConnell (16 pts, 7 reb) led Indy
  • Historically Hot: This is just the fifth time in team history that Toronto has had a win streak as substantial as 9 games
  • “We’re going to need this crowd big,” Ingram said postgame, with the win and Detroit’s loss ensuring the Knockout Round visits The North

2. MORE STREAKS: CELTICS COOL PISTONS, HEAT WIN AGAIN

A historic stretch of 14 games and 28 days of perfect results all culminated in 15 pivotal seconds Wednesday night.

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That’s when Boston’s defense took control.

Celtics 117, Pistons 114 (East B): Derrick White (27 pts) closed with 11 4th-quarter points on three of a season-high six 3s, and forced one of two key turnovers in the final 15 seconds as Boston stood tall in a wild finish to snap Detroit’s 13-game win streak. | Recap

  • C’s Keys: Jaylen Brown (33 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk) set the tone in all aspects as Boston’s defense held Detroit to its 2nd-lowest field goal percentage (39.8) of the season
  • All-Out Cade: Cunningham (42 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast) led all scorers, nearly willing the Pistons to OT by drawing a 3-shot foul, but couldn’t hit the game-tying free throw 
  • “I couldn’t be more proud of the group,” said Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff on Detroit’s franchise-record-tying win streak coming to an end. “Win or loss.”
  • Winner Take All: The Pistons (2-1) meet the Magic on Friday (7:30 ET, LP) to decide East B, while Boston is eliminated despite the victory

ICYMI: Tyler Herro is back – and the Heat can’t stop stacking dubs.

Heat 106, Bucks 103 (East C): After scoring 24 and the game-winner in his season debut on Monday, Herro led Miami again with 29 points and 7 dimes as the Heat held on to edge out Ryan Rollins (26 pts) and the Bucks, extending their win streak to six games. | Recap

  • Spo’s 800th: With the win, Erik Spoelstra became the 9th-fastest coach to reach 800 career victories and just the 17th all-time
  • Eyeing Its Ticket: Miami finishes 3-1 in Group Play and will clinch East C if the Bucks beat the Knicks on Friday (more on that below ⬇️)

3. SETTING THE STAGE: 3 WINS CREATE 3 ‘WIN-AND-IN’ FRIDAY FINALES

While Orlando and Detroit entered Wednesday already locked in for an East B winner-take-all duel on Friday, three more teams earned group-clinching opportunities with victories last night.

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Suns 112, Kings 100 (West A): In the Thanksgiving spirit, Mark Williams was eating (21 pts, 16 reb, 9-12 FG), while Collin Gillespie matched him with 21 points along with 9 helpers to power Phoenix to a wire-to-wire win, improving to 3-0 in West A. | Recap

  • Suns Shining: Devin Booker added 19 points and 6 assists as the Suns improved to 9-2 in their last 11 – a stretch in which they rank 3rd in DefRtg
  • Winner Take All: Up next for Phoenix? OKC, also 3-0, in a Friday showdown to decide the group (9:30, League Pass)

The Blazers simply needed a win to punch their ticket to the Knockout Round.

De’Aaron Fox and the Spurs had other ideas.

Spurs 115, Blazers 102 (West C): With San Antonio up 2 at the half, Fox caught fire, pouring in 23 of his 37 points in the final two quarters, as the Spurs outscored Portland 59-48 to avoid elimination, despite Deni Avdija’s big night (37 pts, 6 reb, 8 ast). | Recap

  • Deciding Duel: Both at 2-1, the Spurs now face the Nuggets on Friday to decide West C (9:30 ET, LP)

Knicks 129, Hornets 101 (East C): For the first time in the play-by-play era, all five Knicks starters had 10+ points at the half, as New York jumped out to a 72-47 lead and didn’t look back to improve to 2-1 in Group Play, eliminating Charlotte (0-3). | Recap

  • NY5: Led by Jalen Brunson (33 pts, 14-28 FG) and Josh Hart (22 pts, 7 ast), the Knicks’ starting 5 combined for a season-high 111 of their 129 points
  • Win & In: New York can claim East C with a victory over Milwaukee on Friday (7:30 ET, Prime), while a Bucks victory would hand the group to Miami


4. ROUNDUP: HOUSTON & MEMPHIS RALLY FOR LATE DUBS

Trailing by as many as 14 points in the 3rd quarter, Houston flipped a switch.

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Rockets 104, Warriors 100 (West C): The Rockets outscored the Warriors 57-41 in the 2nd half on the strength of Reed Sheppard’s career night (31 pts, 9 reb, 5 ast), leading Alperen Sengun (16 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast) and five Rockets in double-digits to victory. | Recap

  • Dubs Check: Jimmy Butler III led the Bay with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, with Steph (14 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast) exiting in the final minute with quad pain

Grizzlies 133, Pelicans 128 (OT, West C): Vince Williams Jr. was feeling extra generous on Thanksgiving eve, dishing out a career-high 17 assists, while Jaren Jackson Jr. (27 pts, 5 3s), Jaylen Wells (25 pts, 5 3s) and Zach Edey (21 pts, 15 reb) all scored season-highs to rally the Grizz past the Pels in OT. | Recap

  • Epic Finish: Memphis chipped away at a 17-point deficit before its 15-7 4th-quarter run forced Zion Williamson (17 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast) to extend the game with 0.9 left
  • But overtime was all Grizz, as Jackson (5 pts) and Wells (4 pts) single-handedly outscored NOLA 9-3 to complete the comeback, improving to 2-1 in Group Play
  • Pacing The Pels: Jose Alvarado (24 pts, 6 3s) led eight Pelicans in double figures
  • What It Means: The Grizzlies’ win eliminated the Wolves, Kings, Warriors and Rockets. Memphis contends for the West Wild Card on Friday, facing the Clippers (10 ET, LP)

5. SEASON OF GIVING: 20 YEARS OF NBA CARES

For 20 years, NBA Cares has helped bring people around the world together through the game of basketball.

Established in 2005 to unite the league’s community efforts and amplify positive impact of teams and players off the court, NBA Cares has continued to drive change on key issues facing fans and communities.

Now, as we head into the winter holidays, we also head into one of the key moments on the NBA Cares calendar: the NBA Cares Season of Giving.

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  • “It’s been 20 years of meaningful impact, and that’s what we’re most proud of,” said Kathy Behrens, the NBA’s President of Social Responsibility and Player Programs
  • “[The] commitment to community that’s existed in our league from the very beginning, and will no doubt live on for decades to come, is truly I think what makes the NBA so special.”

Designed to brighten the winter holidays for children and families across the globe, the NBA Cares Season of Giving will reach thousands of children, families and those in need through hundreds of local events.

  • All 30 teams will host local events across the country, with players, legends, coaches and teams – both NBA & affiliate league – engaging communities through education, health, wellness & hands-on service
  • OKC’s Isaiah Hartenstein served meals for Thanksgiving, the Pistons donated food and household essentials for Season of Giving
  • Philly’s Tyrese Maxey hosted his annual Turkey Giveaway, distributing 3,000 holiday meals, while Dylan Harper helped lead the Spurs annual Turkey Drive
  • The Wolves held their annual Holiday Shopping Event, surprising young fans with a shopping spree alongside players, while the Hawks packed 1 million meals at State Farm Arena
  • Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen brought holiday cheer to Open Doors Academy students and Houston’s Jabari Smith surprised residents from the Julia C. Hester Community Center with a Thanksgiving meal
  • The Knicks hosted a fall dinner that served 250 families affiliated with the NYC Department of Homeless Services
  • And for the 28th year, the Pacers provided warm meals and winter essentials inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Hoosiers in need

Join the NBA Family in making a difference this holiday season. Visit NBACares.com to learn how you can help, and follow #NBACares on social as the NBA family highlights charitable efforts from now through Dec. 31.

Want to share Starting 5 with a friend? Send them this link.

Shape the Starting 5.  Email us here.

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How Boston Dynamics upgraded the Atlas robot — and what’s next

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How Boston Dynamics upgraded the Atlas robot — and what’s next


In 2021, 60 Minutes visited the offices of robotics company Boston Dynamics and met an early model of its humanoid robot, Atlas. 

It could run, jump and maintain its balance when pushed. But it was bulky, with stiff, mechanical movements. 

Now, Atlas can cartwheel, dance, run with human-like fluidity, twist its arms, head and torso 360 degrees, and pick itself up off of the floor using only its feet. 

“They call it a humanoid, but he stands up in a way no human could possibly stand up,” correspondent Bill Whitaker told Overtime. “His limbs can bend in ways ours can’t.”

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Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter told Whitaker that Atlas’ “superhuman” range of motion is keeping with the company’s vision for humanoid robots. 

“We think that’s the way you should build robots. Don’t limit yourself to what people can do, but actually go beyond,” Playter said. 

Whitaker watched demonstrations of the latest Atlas model at Boston Dynamics’ headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts. Rather than turning around to walk in the other direction, Atlas can simply rotate its upper torso 180 degrees. 

“For us to turn around, we have to physically turn around,” he told Overtime. “Atlas just pivots on his core.”

Boston Dynamics’ head of robotics research, Scott Kuindersma, told Whitaker that Atlas doesn’t have wires that cross its the joints of the limbs, torso and head, allowing continuous rotation for tasks and easier maintenance of the robot.

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“The robot’s not really limited in its range of motion,” Kuindersma told Whitaker. “One of the reliability issues that you often find in robots is that their wires start to break over time… we don’t have any wires that go across those rotating parts anymore.”

Another upgrade to the Atlas humanoid robot is its AI brain, powered by Nvidia chips.

Atlas’ AI can be trained to do tasks.  One way is through teleoperation, in which a human controls the robot. Using virtual reality gear, the teleoperator trains Atlas to do a specific task, repeating it multiple times until the robot succeeds.

Whitaker watched a teleoperation training session. A Boston Dynamics’ machine learning scientist showed Atlas how to stack cups and tie a knot.

Kuindersma told Whitaker robot hands pose a complex engineering problem.

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“Human hands are incredible machines that are very versatile. We can do many, many different manipulation tasks with the same hand,” Kuindersma said. 

Boston Dynamics’ new Atlas has only three digits on each hand, which can swing into different positions or modes.

“They can act as if they were a hand with these three digits, or this digit can swing around and act more like a thumb,” Kuindersma said. 

“It allows the robot to have different shaped grasps, to have two-finger opposing grasp to pick up small objects. And then also make its hands very wide, in order to pick up large objects.”

Kuindersma said the robot has tactile sensors on its fingers, which provide information to Atlas’ neural network so the robot can learn how to manipulate objects with the right amount of pressure.

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But Kuindersma said there is still room to improve teleoperation systems.

“Being able to precisely control not only the shape and the motion, but the force of the grippers, is actually an interesting challenge,” Kuindersma told Whitaker. 

“I think there’s still a lot of opportunity to improve teleoperation systems, so that we can do even more dexterous manipulation tasks with robots.”

Whitaker told Overtime, “There is quite a bit of hype around these humanoids right now. Financial institutions predict that we will be living with millions, if not billions, of robots in our future. We’re not there yet.”

Whitaker asked Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter if the humanoid hype was getting ahead of reality. 

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“There is definitely a hype cycle right now. Part of that is created by the optimism and enthusiasm we see for the potential,” Playter said.

“But while AI, while software, can sort of move ahead at super speeds… these are machines and building reliable machines takes time…  These robots have to be reliable. They have to be affordable. That will take time to deploy.”

The video above was produced by Will Croxton. It was edited by Scott Rosann. 



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Officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 say their struggles linger, 5 years after the riot – The Boston Globe

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Officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 say their struggles linger, 5 years after the riot – The Boston Globe


Gonell was one of the officers who defended the central West Front entrance to the Capitol that day as Congress was certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory and hundreds of Trump’s supporters broke into the building, echoing his false claims of a stolen election. Gonell was dragged into the crowd by his shoulder straps as he tried to fight people off. He almost suffocated. In court, he testified about injuries to his shoulder and foot that still bother him to this day.

“They have tried to erase what I did” with the pardons and other attempts to play down the violent attack, Gonell said. “I lost my career, my health, and I’ve been trying to get my life back.”

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Five years since the siege, Gonell and some of the other police officers who fought off the rioters are still coming to terms with what happened, especially after Trump was decisively elected to a second term last year and granted those pardons. Their struggle has been compounded by statements from the Republican president and some GOP lawmakers in Congress minimizing the violence that the officers encountered.

“It’s been a difficult year,” said Officer Daniel Hodges, a Metropolitan Police Department officer who was also injured as he fought near Gonell in a tunnel on the West Front. Hodges was attacked several times, crushed by the rioters between heavy doors and beaten in the head as he screamed for help.

“A lot of things are getting worse,” Hodges said.

More than 140 police officers were injured during the fighting on Jan. 6, which turned increasingly brutal as the hours wore on.

Former Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger took over the department six months after the riot. He said in a recent interview that many of his officers were angry when he first arrived, not only because of injuries they suffered but also “they resented the fact that they didn’t have the equipment they needed, the training they needed ” to deal with the unexpectedly violent crowd.

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Several officers who fought the rioters told The Associated Press that the hardest thing to deal with has been the effort by many to play down the violence, despite a massive trove of video and photographic evidence documenting the carnage.

Trump has called the rioters he pardoned, including those who were most violent toward the police, “patriots” and “hostages.” He called their convictions for harming the officers and breaking into the building “a grave national injustice.”

“I think that was wrong,” Adam Eveland, a former District of Columbia police officer, said of Trump’s pardons. If there were to be pardons, Eveland said, Trump’s administration should have reviewed every case.

“I’ve had a hard time processing that,” said Eveland, who fought the rioters and helped to push them off the Capitol grounds.

The pardons “erased what little justice there was,” said former Capitol Police Officer Winston Pingeon, who was part of the force’s Civil Disturbance Unit on Jan. 6. He left the force several months afterward.

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Pushback from lawmakers and the public

Hodges and Gonell have been speaking out about their experiences since July 2021, when they testified before the Democratic-led House committee that investigated Jan 6. Since then, they have received support but also backlash.

At a Republican-led Senate hearing in October on political violence, Hodges testified again as a witness called by Democrats. After Hodges spoke about his experience on Jan. 6, Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., asked the other witnesses whether they supported Trump’s pardons of the rioters, including for those who injured Hodges. Three of the witnesses, all called by Republicans, raised their hands.

“I don’t know how you would say it wasn’t violent,” says Hodges, who is still a Washington police officer.

It has not just been politicians or the rioters who have doubted the police. It also is friends and family.

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“My biggest struggle through the years has been the public perception of it,” Eveland said, and navigating conversations with people close to him, including some fellow police officers, who do not think it was a big deal.

“It’s hard for me to wrap my head around that, but ideology is a pretty powerful thing,” he said.

Improvements in safety and support

As police officers struggled in the aftermath, Manger, the former Capitol Police chief, said the department had to figure out how to better support them. There were no wellness or counseling services when he arrived, he said, and they were put in to place.

“The officers who were there and were in the fight — we needed to make sure that they got the help that they needed,” Manger said.

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Manger, who retired in May, also oversaw major improvements to the department’s training, equipment, operational planning and intelligence. He said the Capitol is now “a great deal safer” than it was when he arrived.

“If that exact same thing happened again, they would have never breached the building, they would have never gotten inside, they would have never disrupted the electoral count,” Manger said.

Pingeon, the former Capitol Police officer, said he believes the department is in many ways “unrecognizable” from what it was on Jan. 6 and when he left several months later.

“It was a wake-up call,” he said.

Pingeon, who was attacked and knocked to the ground as he tried to prevent people from entering the Capitol, said Jan. 6 was part of the reason he left the department and moved home to Massachusetts. He has dealt with his experience by painting images of the Capitol and his time there, as well as advocating for nonviolence. He said he now feels ready to forgive.

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“The real trauma and heartache and everything I endured because of these events, I want to move past it,” he said.

Gonell left the Capitol Police because of his injuries. He has not returned to service, though he hopes to work again. He wrote a book about his experience, and he said he still has post-traumatic stress disorder related to the attack.

While many of the officers who were there have stayed quiet about their experiences, Eveland said he decided that it was important to talk publicly about Jan. 6 to try to reach people and “come at it from a logical standpoint.”

Still, he said, “I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that just because something happened to me and was a major part of my world doesn’t mean that everyone else has to understand that or even be sympathetic to that.”

He added: “The only thing I can do is tell my story, and hopefully the people who respect me will eventually listen.”

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Kirouac’s dunk sparks Georgia Tech to victory over Boston College

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Kirouac’s dunk sparks Georgia Tech to victory over Boston College


Georgia Tech

Jackets shook off a sluggish start to dispose of Boston College, 65-53.

Georgia Tech guard Chas Kelley III finishes a layup past Boston College’s Marko Radunovic on Saturday, Jan. 3 at McCamish Pavilion. (Danny Karnik/Georgia Tech Athletics)

Trailing late in the second half Saturday at McCamish Pavilion, Georgia Tech needed a spark. Cole Kirouac delivered.

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The 7-foot freshman found himself unguarded inside the arc on the left side of the court. Without hesitation he bolted toward the rim, took flight and slammed home the ball with two hands to tie the score at 46 with seven minutes left on the clock.

Kirouac’s dunk brought many of the 5,978 to their feet and changed the energy in the building while the Yellow Jackets threatened to lose to the worst team in the ACC. Instead, Tech took the lead shortly after Kirouac’s play and never trailed again in a 65-53 victory.

“Originally, it was just supposed to be a handoff. I saw my man sagging off. I just took one dribble, went up and dunked it,” Kirouac said. “I feel like I was pretty tired in that moment. I feel like that energized me a lot. I think we had energy as a team, but I feel like it probably boosted it a little bit.”

Said Tech coach Damon Stoudamire: “That was a heck of a dunk he had. That ignited us, ignited the crowd. Proud of him and happy for him.”

Saturday’s victory was the 10th of the season for Tech — all 10 have come at home and all 10 have come against opponents which reside in Quadrant 4 of the NCAA’s NET rankings. Per that metric, Boston College was the ACC’s lowest-ranked team at No. 179 going into Saturday.

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But the Jackets (10-5, 1-1 ACC), the ACC’s second-worst team in the NET, found themselves in a dogfight for much of the afternoon despite leading by 10 late in the first half. The Eagles (7-7, 0-1 ACC) had momentum on their side and led by four with 9:14 to play before wilting at the end.

Tech guard Lamar Washington flirted with a triple-double by finishing with 17 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Kowacie Reeves scored 16 and Baye Ndongo had 10 points and eight boards.

Twenty of Tech’s 65 points came from the free-throw line. The Jackets also had 23 fast break points — Boston College had none.

“We’re a good team,” Washington said. “When we play together and we play with confidence and we play how we’re supposed to play, we can — I feel like we can beat anybody in the nation.”

Tech was sluggish and sloppy at the outset, suffering through a field goal drought of 6:04 while missing nine of its first 10 shots. But a Ndongo layup followed by a Kam Craft 3 from the right corner tied the game at 11-all a little less than eight minutes into the fight.

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The Jackets began to get a feel for things offensively from there and took their first lead on a Jaeden Mustaf layup at 13-12. Akai Fleming’s powerful finish from the right block 3 1/2 minutes later put the home team ahead 19-15.

Tech had six assists on its first seven made shots at that point.

Fleming’s score began an 10-2 Tech run that also included a Fleming dunk and two Fleming free throws that upped the lead to 27-17.

But the Jackets wouldn’t score the rest of the half and had to settle for a 27-24 lead at the break. The Eagles, despite shooting 9 of 34 from the floor, ended the period on a 7-0 run to close the gap.

“I was actually disappointed the last three minutes of the first half because BC, they’ve played a lot of games where they just rock you to sleep,” Stoudamire said. “You’ll feel like you’re in control of the game and then all of a sudden you lose a rhythm offensively, and then they start scoring some buckets and they hit a bank-shot 3 and you just have all kind of things start happening, and that’s when the game turned. The momentum of the game, it shifted. And we couldn’t find it back offensively.”

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A back-and-forth first eight minutes of the second half saw Boston College finally tie the game at 36 before Tech squeaked ahead by four thanks to two Washington free throws and a Reeves layup.

The Eagles responded with a 7-0 run and took the lead on a Donald Hand Jr. 3, and then went up 43-40 on Chase Forte’s layup at the 10:33 mark. Boden Kapke’s putback after a missed free throw gave BC a 46-42 edge 64 seconds later.

That was the last little glimmer of hope the visitors had.

“We couldn’t have won games like this last year,” Stoudamire said. “The way I look at everything that’s happening, I think sometimes people get bent out of shape when you play teams and you don’t beat ‘em by how many points they want you to win by or different things of that nature. We went to Duke and we lost by six. We come back (Saturday) and it was kind of a grimy game.

“But we’ve been playing close games, so we’re seasoned in these games. Doesn’t matter who you play, you’re seasoned in ‘em, and I think that what you’ve seen. You didn’t see no panic with our guys coming down the stretch.”

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Hand and Kapke both scored 13 for BC, which shot 18 of 66 from the field and 4 of 29 from long range.

Tech returns to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Syracuse (9-5, 0-1) at McCamish Pavilion.

Chad Bishop

Chad Bishop is a Georgia Tech sports reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.



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