Los Angeles Clippers forward Robert Covington agreed to a two-year, $24 million extension to remain with the club, ESPN reported Thursday.

According to the report, Covington was eligible under the collective bargaining agreement to re-sign with the Clippers for a maximum of two years prior to the start of free agency in July.

Covington earned $12.975 million last season when he split the campaign between the Portland Trail Blazers and Clippers. Los Angeles acquired Covington in February.

Covington, 31, averaged 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in 23 games (two starts) for the Clippers. Overall, he averaged 8.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 71 games (42 starts) and notched 128 3-pointers, 103 steals and 91 blocked shots.

In nine NBA seasons, Covington has career averages of 11.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 537 games (460 starts). He also has played for the Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves.

–Field Level Media

In their first-round Western Conference playoff series win over the Utah Jazz, the Dallas Mavericks allowed just 99 points per game, keeping Utah under 100 points three times.

But the top-seeded Phoenix Suns have been much more difficult to stop, averaging 125 points in taking a 2-0 lead in the conference semifinals.

If fourth-seeded Dallas is to make Phoenix sweat, it’s going to have to tighten up its defense, beginning with Game 3 of the seven-game series on Friday night in Dallas.

For starters, the Mavericks will need to force tougher shots. The Suns have canned at least 50 percent from the field in all eight playoff games, including a blistering 64.5 percent Wednesday night in a 129-109 Game 2 win.

That included a 13 of 25 performance from the 3-point line, which upped Phoenix’s effective field goal percentage over 73 percent. And in the fourth quarter, which started with the Suns nursing an 89-83 advantage, they were 16 of 19 from the field.

“We have good players,” Phoenix coach Monty Williams said. “I’d love to sit here and tell you I’m moving the chess pieces around, but we have good players who can knock down shots.”

Devin Booker scored a team-high 30 for the Suns and Chris Paul added 28, going 6 of 7 from the field for 14 points in the fourth quarter. Paul and Booker led the way as Phoenix turned a close game into a 122-95 advantage, then coasted to the finish line.

Despite his team’s inability to string together stops consistently, Dallas coach Jason Kidd is pointing the finger at the Mavericks’ imbalance on offense. Luka Doncic scored 45 in Game 1 and 35 more on Wednesday night, but there’s not been enough help.

“We got to get other guys shooting the ball better,” Kidd said. “We can’t win with just him scoring 30 a night, not at this time of year. And we’re playing the best team in the league. We got to get other guys going.”

Two guys in particular that Kidd wants to see get off the mark are Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie. Those guards, along with forwards Dorian Finney-Smith and Dwight Powell, have combined to score fewer points (66) than Doncic in the first two games. They also have fewer assists (12) than Doncic (15).

“We got to get JB and Spencer a rhythm and get them good shots for Game 3,” Kidd said.

It might be fair to wonder if it matters what Dallas does when it plays the Suns. Wednesday night’s result was Phoenix’s 11th consecutive victory over the Mavericks. And it also extended the Suns’ perfect streak when leading after three quarters. They are 52-0 this season, counting the playoffs.

When asked about his big fourth quarter Wednesday night, Paul’s words could have also explained why Phoenix has been such a good closing team.

“You’ve just got to lean on the work,” he said. “It all goes back to the work. You can’t cheat the game. You’ve got to do the strength and conditioning, you’ve got to lift, you’ve got to get your rest, you got to get your shots up.

“When you do that, you live with the results.”

–Field Level Media

The 76ers are back home and desperate for a turnaround in Philadelphia. Any rally from a 2-0 series deficit must happen without MVP candidate Joel Embiid.

With the Miami Heat in control of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals, Philadelphia officially ruled out Embiid with myriad battle wounds from the 76ers’ first-round series win over Toronto.

The Sixers practiced on Thursday before the verdict came later in the night: Embiid is a no-go.

“They’re coming home. Obviously, they are in an 0-2 hole, so I do expect him to play,” Heat forward Bam Adebayo said before the injury report was released.

Sixers coach Doc Rivers had “no update” to Embiid’s status on Thursday and had only seen his franchise centerpiece via FaceTime in recent days. Rivers said Embiid is still in concussion protocol, but has “hurdles to clear” with his other injuries as well. Embiid has an orbital fracture and a torn ligament in his thumb.

His return, even at less than full strength, might put a spring in Philly’s step. But that bounce will not come until at least Game 4, putting the onus on the rest of the usual supporting cast to play starring role without the All-Star in the middle.

“How much attention he’s gonna draw from everybody when he’s on the floor whether he’s on the perimeter, at the elbow, on the block,” Heat forward Jimmy Butler said. “What he does defensively for those guys is pretty incredible too. I’m not a statistics guy or analytics, but I can tell you, whenever he’s on the floor, they are a much better team. I want him to get right because we want to play against who I call the MVP.”

Shooting has been dismal for the Sixers in the series, but Rivers said shot selection and his perspective that good shots are available are selling points to motivate Philadelphia for Friday’s pivotal game. Philadelphia made just 21.9 percent (14 of 64) from 3-point range in the first two games of this series.

Embiid has done only light workouts — very little, in Rivers’ words — since his head injuries April 28 at Toronto. He led the NBA in scoring (30.6). He also averaged 11.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

“We don’t have a big man right now,” Rivers said. “He’s got so many steps to go through (in concussion protocols). I don’t think he’s cleared any of them yet.”

There could be a shift in the rotation on Friday, but Rivers can’t likely avoid playing DeAndre Jordan big minutes against Adebayo. Jordan has a plus-minus of -22 in the series.

Home court could be a benefit to the Sixers. Philadelphia went 24-17 at home this season, which is identical to Miami’s road record.

The Sixers shot 36.4 percent from 3-point range in the regular season, relying on players such as Tyrese Maxey (42.7 percent); Georges Niang (40.3); Seth Curry (40.0); Embiid (37.1); and Tobias Harris (36.7).

Niang went 0-for-7 from distance in Game 1 and fouling out in just 10 minutes and five points in Game 2.

Here’s the 3-point shooting in this series from other struggling Sixers: Danny Green 2-for-14; Maxey 2-for-10; James Harden 3-for-12; and Harris 3-for-9.

“We’ve got to make shots,” said Harden, who is averaging 18.0 points in the series. “It’s simple.”

Maxey is averaging a team-high 26.5 points in this series, and Harris is averaging 23.0 points.

“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board,” Maxey said. “We have to figure it out.”

The Heat have never lost a playoff series after taking a 2-0 lead, going 18-0, while the Sixers are 0-19 after going down 2-0.

History aside, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra wants to guard against overconfidence.

“It’s never easy to get playoff wins,” he said.

Butler and Adebayo are playing well with the staring unit and Tyler Herro remains the one player Rivers said he doesn’t want the 76ers to leave alone.

Adebayo is averaging 23.5 points and 10.5 rebounds against Embiid’s fill-ins. Herro is averaging 21.5 points, and Butler has been an all-around force with 18.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and a team-high 7.5 assists in building the 2-0 lead.

Miami is playing without starting point guard Kyle Lowry, who is questionable due to a strained hamstring. Lowry is lobbying to return on Friday, but Spoelstra said the team is being cautious.

“We’re not basing our decisions on whether we are winning or losing,” Spoelstra said. “It’s about what we think is best.”

The Heat also listed Herro and defensive stopper P.J. Tucker (calf) as questionable. Both played in Game 2 and Tucker, part of the NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks last season, made it sound like he’s not sitting.

“It’s about who’s built for this,” Tucker said of the playoff injury report earlier this week. “Who’s going to put the mask on, knee sleeve on, and icy hot and going to give you what I got.”

–Field Level Media

76ers center Joel Embiid made progress but his status for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday is to be determined, Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said Thursday.

Embiid must clear concussion protocol and awaits full medical clearance to play with a fractured right orbital bone. Rivers said Embiid remains in the NBA’s concussion protocol and has “hurdles to clear” before he gets the green light to join the 76ers on the court. That doesn’t even call into question the health of Embiid’s hand. He finished the first-round series against Toronto with a torn ligament in his thumb.

Miami took a 2-0 series lead, but Heat guard Jimmy Butler said his team wants Embiid in the lineup.

“I want to compete against him. I really do,” Butler said Thursday, adding he expects Embiid to play the rest of the series. “I think they are a completely different team whenever he is out there both offensively and defensively, and so we’re looking forward to that.”

Rivers said the team is positive entering Game 3 with or without Embiid after a team film session highlighting the good looks at the basket that just didn’t go in at Miami. Embiid, Rivers said, should be able to hit the ground running when he is available.

“This is the playoffs, you don’t get time like in the regular season to come back and work out with staff and stuff for three or four days. Unfortunately, that’s not how the playoffs are built,” Rivers said. “When guys go down in the playoffs, they often have to come back with no work. That makes it very difficult for them when they come back. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to play great, or sometimes they do, you just don’t know.”

Embiid’s head injuries resulted from a play with 3:58 left in the Sixers’ clinching Game 6 against the Raptors on April 28. Philadelphia led 119-90 when Toronto’s Pascal Siakam caught Embiid in the face with an elbow on a drive to the basket.

A five-time All-Star, Embiid has experienced a similar facial injury. In 2018, he fractured his left orbital bone and was sidelined for three weeks before returning to action in the playoffs, wearing a facemask.

Rivers emphasized Thursday that a win for Philadelphia on Friday brings the series as close as it could possibly be after three games. Erik Spoelstra said the Heat have to prepare as if Embiid is coming back.

“It changes dramatically. You’re talking about MVP talent,” Spoelstra said. “So we’ll just have to see. We knew this series was going to shift and it’s going to change pretty dramatically. It’s better for it to change dramatically when we’re able to get a couple wins, but yeah, he changes the equation quite a bit — you have to plan for it.”

–Field Level Media