With Jimmy Butler in the midst of his third unpaid Miami Heat team suspension, this one a five-game sanction that runs through the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline, the sense around the team is of being closer to impending closure than any other point during the process.

COOPER FLAGG AND THE DUKE BLUE DEVILS Cooper Flagg is at it again. Two days after a 24-7-6 night in a come-from-behind victory over Wake Forest, Flagg put on a clinic in the second half of Duke's 74-64 win over North Carolina State at Cameron Indoor Stadium Monday night.

Butler, the disgruntled forward who has sought a trade from Miami, left the team's shootaround hours before its double-overtime win.