How to win in knockout basketball

How to Play Knockout | PRO TIPS by DICK'S Sporting Goods

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Free throw opportunities can be stressful. The clock may be stopped, but the pressure is definitely on. Whether you’re looking to sharpen your free throw abilities or to become a driveway court master, games like Knockout can bring some thrill to skill building. This basketball game has many names – Knockout, Bump Out, Lightning – but only one goal: outlast your competition. Learn to be a true knockout on the court with the help of this Pro Tips guide.

Gym, driveway or black top, you can play Knockout pretty much anywhere – here’s what you need in your line-up:

• One hoop – All players in Knockout shoot at the same target, so only one hoop is necessary. This makes Knockout a neighborhood-friendly game and allows coaches to run multiple drills in the gym.
• Two basketballs – Two players shoot at the same time in Knockout. Therefore, the game requires two basketballs. Check that your basketballs are court appropriate with the Pro Tips complete guide to basketballs.
• Two or more players – Part of what makes Knockout stand out from other free throw practice drills is that it is a group activity. While the game only needs two players, having more participants allows for longer and more challenging play. You’ll never get a foul for having too many players on the court in this game.

Knockout begins with all participants gathering single file behind the foul line. If playing on a surface without court markings, choose a starting position and distance that resembles a free throw.

The first two players in line will each take a basketball at the start of play. However, the game is also known as ‘Lightning’ for a reason – it moves very fast. If you are not one of the first two players, be sure to pay attention and know when it’s your turn to shoot.

Play is officially in action once Player One takes a free throw. If they score on the initial shot, they are safe for the round. In the event there are only two participants, they will retrieve the ball and return to the starting position. If there are more than two participants, Player One will rebound and pass the ball to the next player in line.

However, if Player One misses their opening shot, they must rebound the ball and continue shooting from the court. This can be from wherever they rebound the ball. Players can also dribble the ball to a position of their choosing to shoot from.

Meanwhile, Player Two should take their foul shot from the starting line immediately after Player One. Player Two will follow the same procedure as Player One, but with a key difference. If they score before Player One does, they eliminate Player One from the game. This process continues until only one player remains.

Whether playing for fun or are looking for an intense practice drill, you can modify Knockout’s gameplay in various ways.

• Add some knocking – You can add a provision to the game that allows players to use their basketball to block away their opponent’s shots.
• Increase the difficulty – The quick nature of Knockout already poses a tough test. But you can add extra challenges by moving back the starting line after each round. You can also require all subsequent shots from the initial free throw to be layups.
• Buzzer beater – Rather than having participants compete against each other, they can compete against the clock. In this version of the game, you will choose a set amount of time. Similar to dodgeball, players can reenter the competition once the person who knocked them out is eliminated.

Success in Knockout can help lead to success in big game moments. Having a strong free throw is key for both. Here are a few tips to help you improve:

• Proper stance – Make sure to square your body to the basket with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes one to two inches behind the foul line. Generally, there is a small circle at the center of the free throw line. If you are left-handed, line up your left foot with the circle and vice versa for right-handed shooters.
• Watch your elbows – Swinging elbows can not only lead to a foul in action, but they can hinder you at the line, too. Try to keep your elbows close to your body while making your shot in order to increase leverage and accuracy.
• Grip – With your shooting hand, line your fingertips parallel to the seams of the ball. Spread your fingers so you can comfortably balance the ball on one hand. Your non-shooting hand should lightly rest on the side of the ball. Remember, when you are shooting, this hand should always come off the ball first.
• Backspin – Having strong backspin off your shot can help the ball hit the backboard and fall into the basket. To increase backspin, make sure the ball is rolling off your fingers and not your palms while shooting.
• Momentum is key – To help avoid air balls, be mindful of your body position when releasing the shot. As you bend your knees and push up, be sure to release the ball at your peak. Releasing the ball before or after can cause it to have less force.

Looking for more basketball games you can play at home? Check out our guide on how to play HORSE.

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Knockout. Meaning in basketball. Definition. Wiki. Terms

What is Knockout?

How to play Knockout?

What are rules of the game?

Knockout, sometimes called Lightning, Bump, Gotcha, Bumpout, Tornado, Speed, or Killer is played by 2 or more players and requires 2 basketballs.

All players line up behind the selected shooting point, typically the center of the free throw line or the top of the key. The first player in line shoots. If they miss, they rebound the ball and continue shooting until they make a goal. Once the first player throws the ball for their first attempt, the second player may make their first attempt.

The goal of the first player is to make a basket before the second player does. If so, the first player recovers the ball and passes it to the next player in line. The goal of the second player is to make a basket before the first player does. If so, the first player is out and play stops until both balls have been returned to the players in line.

Once the new first and second players each have a ball, play resumes. This pattern follows until all players have been eliminated except one, who is declared the winner. Typically a new game then starts with everyone lining up at the same shooting point according to the order they were eliminated, with the winner in the front of the line and the first person eliminated in the back of the line.

Double dribbling and out-of-bounds are not enforced. Players are required to dribble, though traveling is not heavily monitored. It is common for players to bump an opponent’s ball further away from the basket, but some players discourage this behavior or place limits on it.

It is also common for a player to throw their ball up through the bottom of the hoop to knock the opponent’s ball out and away. Again, some players consider this to be poor sportsmanship. Soft-tossing the ball so a player can pick it up and shoot closer to the basket is also considered cheating. Whenever someone is guilty of poor sportsmanship or cheats, it is said that they have to shoot a second time.

Additional common rules:

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• When there are three shooters left, the players can decide to start shooting from the 3 Point line instead, then when there are two shooters left, they can decide if they want to shoot from the half court line or circle.
• If they decide, the players that have been eliminated can stand under the hoop. If the shooters shoot an air-ball (a shot that does not touch the basketball hoop or backboard), the players under the hoop can catch the ball. The player that catches the ball switches places with the shooter that shot the air-ball. Nothing happens if the players under the hoop do not catch an air-ball. This rule is often disputed by the players to be dangerous because many times the players under the hoop sit-down directly under the hoop, waiting for air-balls and not paying attention if a ball will hit them.
• The winner is allowed to pick where the new shooting point is.
• The winner of the previous game must go 1st or 2nd in the next game, thus putting them at risk for the former or in safety for the latter.
• When a player is eliminated, any other players that player previously eliminated return to play at the end of the line. For example: Alice, Bob, Cami, Dan and Edgar are playing. Dan eliminates Cami and Bob. Later, Edgar eliminates Dan so Cami and Bob return to play at the end of the line. This variant is called Revenge. The logic for this version is that the winner must eliminate all other players in order to win. A game of revenge can take a long time to finish since any player can be eliminated and return to play any number of times. Some versions of revenge put a limit on how many times a player can return to play; i.e., once a player has been eliminated 5 times (for example), that player cannot return to play.
• Forcing the second shooter to wait for the shot from the first shooter to touch or pass the rim or backboard before taking a first shot.
• When a player is eliminated, there is a variation not to wait until both balls return to the line. As soon as the first ball is returned, the next player may shoot.

Knockout is an excellent game to work on player development and home in on these fundamental skills and techniques in the game of basketball.

1. Free Throw Shooting: As the old saying goes “Practice makes perfect”. The best free throw shooters take several hundred shots a day. Knockout can help a player practice good shooting form. Good shooters make following their shot a habit.
2. Rebounding:Knockout helps players learn what direction a ball will go on a missed shot. Players will learn to anticipate where the ball is going and quickly move to that spot. The game also reinforces quickly going up with the ball for a shot after getting a rebound.
3. Layups:If the rebound goes long, it is best to do a layup for an easy shot. Players can practice both right handed and left handed layups during the game of Knockout. Knockout helps reinforce the importance of speed and accuracy when shooting layups.
4. Shooting Under Pressure:In Knockout, every second counts. It’s a race to make your shot to stay in the game and remove your opponents. It is a great way to practice shooting under pressure.
5. Passing:After shooting the player passes the ball to the next player. Solid, crisp passes are expected.
6. Speed:Knockout helps players practice quick bursts of speed as they quickly sprint to the ball to get the rebound.

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semi-finals for the first time without "Trinta" / Russian Federation of Basketball

Today in the capital's secondary school №71 "Timiryazevskaya" 4 teams were determined that will continue to fight for the medals of the First Championship of Russia of Russia among girls born in 2006.

Each of the first three quarter-finals had a favorite. And each of them confidently proved their right to play in the 1/2 finals, winning more than 20 points. The reigning champion was the most convincing. UOR No. 4 them. AND I. Gomelsky in the match against SC "Victoria" "woke up" not immediately - the game started at 10 am. In the starting period, the Muscovites won only 3 points (16:13), but in the second - 23 (30:7)! The soloist was Anastasia Zakharova, the MVP of the previous two Finals, who, closer to the big break, scored 11 points within 5 minutes. After three quarters, the capital's team led "+38" (72:34) and allowed itself to lose the final period, in which it scored only 9points.

Anastasia Sergienko, the leader of Sparta & K, gave another excellent match - 29 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 interceptions. However, the teammates in the game against the SShOR "Kupchinsky Olympus" did not support her properly, playing less effectively by joint efforts - only 28 points. Of course, the Petersburgers, who reached the final two years ago, were much more aggressive in attack. Only the duet of Amin Krasnikov - Ekaterina Lyashenko scored 52 points - only 5 less than the entire team of rivals. The girls from the Moscow Region lasted only the first quarter (15:16), but lost the next one by a double-digit margin. As a result, the SSOR "Kupchinsky Olympus" won all the periods, and by the final siren it achieved a devastating "+26".

And then there were two purely Moscow quarter-finals. In the first, a clear preference was given to hostesses from secondary school No. 71 "Timiryazevskaya". Yes, in the composition of the school "Gloria" them. Yu.I. Biryukova has the best sniper of last season, Eva Partus, but her team managed to suffer two defeats in the group in this Final. And today she lost for the third time, although Partus again was not equal in performance (22 points). But on the other hand, four opponents at once scored at least 12 points, and the advantage of Timiryazevskaya on the rebound, dominated by Maria Ushakova (15), was unconditional - 66:38. Plus, of course, three-pointers decided a lot: Gloria's players made only one attempt out of 17. Timiryazevskaya increased its advantage very confidently. After the first quarter it was "+6" (16:10), after the second - "+15" (39:24), in the second half of the third - "+22" (59:37). The maximum that Gloria managed to do was to win the third period and reduce the gap to 14 points by the last break. However, in the final 10-minute period the hostess exchanged the 20-point milestone again.

But in the final quarter-finals, before it began, it was impossible to give preference to any of the rivals. On the one hand - Runa-Basket Children's Sports Club, which did not lose even once in this final and defeated Gloria in the group. On the other - school №49 "Trinta" them. Yu.Ya. Ravinsky, who lost in the starting round to Kupchinsky Olympus at the last second. But this team was twice the bronze medalist of the All-Russian competitions and last September, in the game for 3rd place, it turned out to be stronger than Runa - 70:58.

The first half of the meeting was dictated by "Trinta". Already in the 6th minute, she led 10 points (17:7), by the end of the starting quarter she slightly loosened her grip, but finished it with a long-range shot by Olesya Galenko (22:12). In the second quarter, as soon as the Runa-Basket Junior Sports Club got close by 6 points (31:25 4 minutes before the big break), the rivals made a 9:0 breakthrough, and in the penultimate minute of the first half, their advantage reached 15 points - 40:25. That's just "Trinta" lacked the "killer instinct". And instead of finally depriving the Rune of hopes for success, she allowed a fleeting relaxation, for which she later paid dearly.

The second quarter ended with 5 points from the Children's Sports Club "Runa-Basket". And in the third quarter, Viktor Kharitonov's wards began to methodically close the gap. In the penultimate minute, Sofia Murzaneva put her team ahead, and before the last break, Daria Tsymbal added a three-point pass, and Yulia Savukova added a goal pass. 52:46 in favor of "Runa", which won a segment lasting almost 12 minutes with a devastating score of 27:6!

Basically, it was already a victory. Not saved and Galenko, twice at the start of the fourth period reduced the gap to 5 points. In the second case, Savukova cooled the ardor of her rivals with a long-range hit. And soon Alexandra Sklyarova brought the gap to double digits - 62:52. With just under 6 minutes left to play, Trinta seemed to have resigned themselves to defeat, with only 4 points left in the remaining time.

The highlight of this match was the sniper duel between Savukova and Galenko, in which the leader of the Children's Sports Club "Runa-Basket" won 30:25. Moreover, Savukova was extremely stable: in the first two quarters - 6 points each, in the last two - 9 points each. Galenko was more productive in the first half (15 points), which was reflected in the result. But in the key third quarter, she scored only 2 points, and her team lost 6:22. At the beginning of the final period, within 45 seconds, two snipers scored 10 (!) points in a row. But in the end, Galenko was not supported by the rest of the Trinta players. In the fourth quarter, they scored only 2 points - a few seconds before the final siren, Anna Grishina set the final score.

1/4 finals

For 1-8th places

UOR No. 4 named after. AND I. Gomelsky (Moscow) - SC "Victoria" (Mozhga) - 81:46

U: Zakharov (19 + 5 interceptions), Kozyrev (17), Ryzhov (12), Emelyanov (7 + 11 rebounds). B: Prozorova (17).

"Sparta & K" - secondary school for temporary detention (Vidnoe) - secondary school "Kupchinsky Olympus" (St. Petersburg) - 57:83

Sp: Sergienko (29). KOs: Krasnikova (28), Lyashenko (24+10 rebounds+4 blocks), Petrov (15), Baranova (10).

School "Gloria" them. Yu.I. Biryukov (Moscow) - School No. 71 "Timiryazevskaya" (Moscow) - 61:82

Ch: Partus (22), Malikova (12), Lopakova (11). T: Kvrivishvili (16), Davydovskaya (13), Marchenkova (13), Ushakova (12+15 rebounds).

Runa-Basket Children's Sports School (Moscow) - School No. 49 "Trinta" im. Yu.Ya. Ravinsky (Moscow) – 68:56

R: Savukova (30+13 rebounds), Tsymbal (13), Murzaneva (11). Tr: Galenko (25), Tomko (8+10 rebounds).

W a 9th-16th places

Secondary school No. 2 (Ufa) – Secondary school Vityaz (Vologda) – 52:49

U: 90 +6 steals), Panuriy (10+6 steals). B: Alekseevskaya (22+14 rebounds+7 steals).

Children's and youth sports school No. 6 (Orel) - School No. 13 named after. O.D. Arteshina (Samara) - 68:40

Or: Basova (17), Boyko (14), Solovyov (13+10 rebounds), Chikina (8+24 rebounds). From: Sych (8+10 rebounds), Kondrasheva (8).

Secondary school "IVS" (Tula) - Secondary school of the Kirovsky district (St. Petersburg) - 70:62

T: Babicheva (32), Vagina (10), Mishina (10), Kanina (4 + 11 rebounds). K: Sherstyuk (22+11 rebounds), Safronova (10+15 rebounds), Razumova (10), Musaelyan (10).

School №2 "Krasnye Krylya" (Tolyatti) - School school "Dynamo-Helicopters of Russia" (Krasnogorsk) - 88:50

KK: Golubeva (22), Skiba (13), Malaeva (11+5 interceptions). Cr: Korneeva (14), Borodach (13), Mazieva (11), Yas (2+10 rebounds).

. O.D. Arteshina (10:00), secondary school "Vityaz" - secondary school of the Kirovsky district (12:00), for 9-12th places - secondary school No. 2 "Krasnye Krylia" - Youth school No. 6 (14:00), secondary school No. 2 - School "IVS" (16:00), for 5-8th places - school "Gloria" them. Yu.I. Biryukova - school №49"Trinta" them. Yu.Ya. Ravinsky (10:00), SC "Victoria" - "Sparta and K" - SSHOR in TDF (12:00), for 1-4th places - SSHOR No. 71 "Timiryazevskaya" - Children's Sports School "Runa-Basket" (14: 00), UOR No. 4 named after. AND I. Gomelsky - SSHOR "Kupchinsky Olympus" (16:00).

Steven A Smith: "Pool was knocked out by Draymond's hit" - Basketball

According to well-known journalist Stephen A Smith, Warriors forward Draymond Green knocked out a teammate during a recent fight with Jordan Pool in training.

“Pool was knocked out by Draymond. Green lunged and caught him with a right hand. And then he fell on him. Thanks to this, the Pool did not collapse immediately.

I was told that he was knocked out. That's how brutal this blow was, ”said Stephen Ay.

Golden State decided to fine Green, but will not punish him with disqualification.

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NBA champions fight in practice. The second conflict in a week in the “Golden State” – perhaps all because of the moneyNBA. Regular Championship. Boston will host Philadelphia, Golden State will play the Lakers

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