Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times: These have truly been trying times for Michael Carter-Williams. The recently-acquired Milwaukee Bucks point guard hasn’t only had to make the challenging transition of playing for a new team, but he’s been enduring some painful personal matters. On the court, Carter-Williams, whom the Bucks obtained from Philadelphia as part of a three-team deal on Feb. 19, has struggled to find his groove, particularly on the offensive end of the floor. ... But Carter-Williams will also acknowledge his mind hasn’t been totally on basketball. His grandfather, Leroy “Mike” Carter died Sunday in Hamilton , Mass. , from an apparent blood clot. He was 86. Carter-Williams said he and his grandfather had a special bond and spent a lot of time together over the years. Leroy was a veteran of the Korean War before becoming the owner of Carter’s Stables in Hamilton . He was an equestrian who trained race and show horses. “When I found out my grandfather had died, it hit me pretty hard," Carter-Williams said. “It still hurts. I was very close to him. He lived next door to my family my whole life. It was a tough loss for me and my family."

Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star: The Indiana Pacers had another late-game moment with the ball in the hands of George Hill. Just the other night, Hill lofted the game-winning floater to cap a tedious comeback but the rally ended on Thursday inside the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Milwaukee Bucks held on for the 111-107 victory after Hill's potential game-tying 3-pointer rimmed in and out during Indiana's final play. Buried under a 23-point lead in the first quarter, the Pacers (31-41) found themselves in the familiar way of playing from behind the entire game. However, after scoring 33 points through the fourth quarter and creating a chance to send the game into overtime, the comeback came up short. "You can't spot a team 23 points and expect to win," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "I'm proud of our fight and trying to get back into it but we can't start that way." In a concerning trend, Indiana has trailed in the first quarter in its last 10 games, dating back to March 10. The early deficits have created unnecessarily difficult challenges and the Pacers have lost seven of those 10 games.

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News: Before the game, I watched and charted Stephen Curry's entire 17-minute warm-up session with assistant Bruce Fraser -- which began about 90 minutes before tipoff -- starting with a two-ball dribbling drill. Then the session ended with five attempts and five misses from halfway inside the Oracle tunnel on passes from courtside security guard Curtis Jones; and those were the shots that Curry recounted with the most animation. As if it was another part of the game. His game. "I didn't do it every single game until last year; but it won't stop now," Curry said, noting that he has made about 20 of them in 36 home games so far this season. For anybody else, the tunnel shot would be just a crowd-pleasing trick; in fact, former Warrior Monta Ellis used to finish many of his sessions in the same way. But for Curry, there is a point to the flashy way he ends his pregame work, because there is a point to every millisecond of what he does and every shot he fires up there. If he can imagine it, he can make it. Not counting the tunnel tries, Curry put up 182 shots in the session I watched -- made 120 -- and within the structure of his work, you saw the essence of Curry's offensive game. ... Curry does almost the exact same routine before every game, for just over 15 minutes every time, and aims to make 31 3-pointers and about 80 2-pointers of various types, at different spots, using either hand for the close-in shots.

Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: The Cavaliers have two players shooting better than 40 percent from behind the arc. Hint: They are the only two Australian-born point guards on the roster. All-Star Kyrie Irving is the top 3-point shooter on one of the league’s most prolific long-range shooting teams. He’s shooting a team-high 40.9 percent from behind the arc (141 of 345). That’s almost to be expected from the 2013 3-point contest winner. Next on the list is Irving’s backup, Matthew Dellavedova, who is shooting 40.1 percent from the 3-point line (57 of 142). That isn’t expected, especially listening to all the noise on social media. Dellavedova, 24, is one of the most polarizing figures on the team. Many critics say the backup point guard spot is one of the few weaknesses on a team gunning for its first NBA championship.The Cavaliers’ front office kicked the tires on a few deals at the trade deadline. That reportedly included future Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash. They had hoped that he would work out a buyout with the Lakers, but he wanted to retire with the storied franchise. So, like him or not, Dellavedova is the backup point guard heading into the playoffs. To be clear, Cavaliers coach David Blatt doesn’t just like him. He loves him as a player.

Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago: The signs this time are undeniable, and aside from the disaster in Detroit last weekend, the Bulls have put together four dominant performances in their last four wins. Holding Raptors to 21 in the fourth on a nationally televised stage, winning going away on the road can’t be diluted by the fact the Raptors are imploding before everyone’s eyes (that 1.5-game difference between the two for the third seed is looking wider by the hour) and had the Hornets scoring decrease in every quarter (26-23-20-17) in Monday’s win. Taking advantage of a mentally wounded opponent is what playoff basketball is all about, and doing so in the Eastern Conference, where every team past the Washington Wizards will be happy just to have the “playoffs” decal on its home floor, the thought of competition-fueled lethargy cannot be used as an excuse. With the exception of the Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks, every remaining opponent is below .500, a firm chance to nail down the third seed in the East is likely and if Rose comes back ready to jump right in — no small feat — this Bulls team won’t fear anyone standing in its way. That’s if they’ve cleared this past hurdle. If.

Brendan Savage of MLive.com: Anyone who has watched Reggie Jackson closely when he's been on the bench this season might have noticed something a little unusual about his attire. In addition to the standard NBA uniform, Jackson also dons a pair of gloves when he's not in the game. Gloves? Yup, it seems the fourth-year point guard has a problem keeping his hands warm while not in the game so he began wearing the gloves while playing for the Thunder. "I found out in OKC I had a problem with my hands getting extremely cold," said Jackson, 24. "Once I started running, I started losing feeling in my extremities and the Oklahoma City training staff, and especially (head trainer) Joe Sharpe, found a way to get me hand warmers and keep my hands warm so I can keep feeling the ball. I'd get out of the game and my hands would get to the point where they were literally freezing. They're basically winter gloves but from a hunting store. They got hand warmers in them. You push a button on them and they keep my hands nice and warm and keep me ready for the game."

Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: During the course of his 18-plus seasons with the Spurs, Tim Duncan has made only 30 of 166 3-point shots, most of them desperation heaves as the shot clock or game clock neared expiration. Duncan’s perfect 3-point jumper from the left corner with 6:33 minutes left in the third quarter of the Spurs’ 130-91 dismantling of the Oklahoma City Thunder at the AT&T Center had the look of a designed play. Duncan wasn’t sure how he ended up in the corner where Danny Green typically spots up for long-distance attempts. But he knew what to do once he got there and took a pass from Tony Parker. “I don’t know,” said the Spurs captain. “Tony just drove at me. I just spaced the floor. My (defender) left and I shot it. Simple and easy.”

Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News: His words were almost as bold as his center's play of late. Following Wednesday's 99-85 win at Denver, 76ers coach Brett Brown emphatically stated: "People have to really start talking about him for rookie of the year. You don't just repetitively bang out these types of performances and produce the numbers that he is producing. He is a complete game changer. He is a complete defensive presence when he's lurking to block shots. He just continues to improve at this time of year. He keeps moving up the food chain and heading in the direction that we're all so thrilled about." Nerlens Noel's progression certainly wasn't projected by anyone to be this quick. He has become a defensive monster in the lane. It isn't just one way in which he is doing it. And that may be what is most impressive. ... He has played 68 of the team's 72 games. He has battled through nicks and bruises throughout. He has gotten in better shape, become so much tougher around the rim with his shot-blocking and rebounding and has become more confident around the rim at the offensive end. Rookie of the year? Perhaps. His averages of 9.6 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and 1.8 steals put him in the mix with Andrew Wiggins, Elfrid Payton and Nikola Mirotic. He is the only player in the NBA in the top 10 in steals and blocks, and since the All-Star break he leads the league in rejects and is second in steals. Rookie of the year? Ask his coach.

Marc Berman of the New York Post: The triangle offense has been a disaster in the D-League too. The Westchester Knicks’ inaugural season is coming to a close with five games left, ending April 4 and Phil Jackson’s D-League affiliate owns the second-worst record of the 18 teams at 10-35. At least Westchester’s .222 winning percentage is better than Derek Fisher’s big club — which is 14-58 with a .194 percent entering Friday’s Garden match against the Celtics. The organization was thrilled to have a D-League team in its backyard to develop players while running Jackson’s triangle, which has come under fire this season as being antiquated. First-year coach Kevin Whitted, according to an NBA source, hasn’t been on the same page as assistant Craig Hodges. Whitted was an Allan Houston hire as they were former Tennessee teammates. Houston is Westchester’s general manager.

Joe Freeman of The Oregonian: The story behind why Nicolas Batum wears No. 88 is as unusual as the number itself. He originally tried to get No. 5, the number his mother selected for him the first time he played basketball in Normandy, France. But Rudy Fernandez had that number. So Batum asked for No. 8. That belonged to Martell Webster, he was told. Six times Batum requested a number. Six times he was denied because a current Blazers player already wore the number or it was retired. Finally, on his seventh request, Batum asked for No. 88 — a number so unique it couldn’t be denied. He settled on 88 because he was born in 1988. “It’s my birthday,” he said. “I’m going to stay 88 as long as I’m with the Trail Blazers.”