Ever see a 7-foot-3 center hit a windmill dunk on a breakaway?

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5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
Jan. 14, 2025

Spurs, Clips Win In LA: Big 2nd halves propel Spurs & Clippers on Monday

Pair Of 40s: Jalen Green & Ant Edwards drop 40-pieces, Pistons rolling, Raptors rally

Streaks On The Line: Pacers (6) & Kings (7) try to keep the wins coming tonight

Triple-Double Bros: A look at the on-court chemistry between Russ & Joker in Denver

The Rematch: OKC looks to get even in Thursday’s eagerly awaited rematch

BUT FIRST … ⏰
A seven-game Tuesday awaits…

TNT Doubleheader: After Indy snapped Cleveland’s 12-game win streak on Sunday, the Cavs will try to return the favor and snap the Pacers’ six-game streak tonight (7 ET).

Plus, the last two teams to represent the West in the NBA Finals meet when Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets visit the Mavs (9:30 ET).

Five Games On League Pass: The Kings go for their eighth straight win when they visit Milwaukee (8 ET) to lead tonight’s League Pass slate.

Wildfire Relief Efforts: The entire NBA, NBPA, WNBA and WNBPA family sends its thoughts and support to the community of Los Angeles during this challenging time. To learn more, get help and/or support, visit NBA Cares.

1. BIG 2ND HALVES HELP CLIPPERS, SPURS TAKE CONTROL IN LA

From Downtown LA to Inglewood, basketball returned to Los Angeles on Monday with the Lakers hosting the Spurs and the Clippers hosting the Heat.

Before tip-off, both the Lakers and Clippers held moments of silence to honor those impacted by the wildfires throughout the Los Angeles area.

• Coaches Pregame: Lakers coach JJ Redick discussed the strength the Lakers players and organization have given him and the city. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue thanked the first responders for helping to keep everyone safe
• Coming Together: LA’s sports teams have joined together to donate more than $8 million to assist local relief efforts
• Messages Of Unity: The Clippers donned warmup shirts showcasing the phrase “LA Strong,” while the Lakers’ read “Thank you first responders”

Spurs 126, Lakers 102: Trailing 62-53 at the half, the Spurs got back into the game in the 3rd quarter, then took complete control in the 4th, outscoring the Lakers 37-13 in the final frame to beat the Lakers in L.A. for the first time since Dec. 2021. | Recap

• Triple 23s: On a night the Lakers honored Michael Cooper’s No. 21, it was the No. 23 that did the damage for San Antonio as Victor Wembanyama, Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle all dropped 23 points in the win
• Lakers Duo Not Enough: Anthony Davis (30 pts, 13 reb) and LeBron James (18 pts, 8 ast) combined for 48 points, but the Lakers dropped their third straight game to fall to seventh in the West
• Special Moment: Chris Paul and Wemby gave Redick’s sons their jerseys after the game, a gesture the coach greatly appreciated
• Cooper Honored: The Lakers retired Michael Cooper’s jersey with a halftime ceremony that included many of the Showtime Lakers, including former coach Pat Riley

Clippers 109, Heat 98: The Clippers got 76 of their 109 points from the trio of Norman Powell (29 pts, 5 3pm), James Harden (26 pts, 11 ast) and Ivica Zubac (21 pts, 20 reb) to defeat the Heat and avoid their third straight loss. | Recap

• Key 3rd Quarter: Down five at the half, Harden (13), Powell (11) and the Clips outscored the Heat 36-20 in the 3rd to seize control
• Herro 🤝 Wade: Tyler Herro (32 pts, 11 reb, 7 ast, 4 3pm) posted his 80th 25+ point game, joining Dwyane Wade as the only Heat players to do so before turning 25

After the game, LA native Harden was asked what the night’s “LA Strong” theme meant to him: “As one, we can stand together and get through it.”

The two visiting teams on Monday – San Antonio and Miami – both showed their support for the city.

• Spurs: Continuing to send our love and support to LA. Thank you firefighters and first responders for your bravery and courage
• Heat: Our hearts are with the city and the people of Los Angeles

2. GREEN, ANT DROP 40-PIECES, PISTONS ROLLING, RAPTORS RALLY

For the second time in five days, a game between the No. 2 Rockets and No. 3 Grizzlies came down to a 4th quarter rally.

• On Thursday, it was Memphis that came charging back from 12 points down, but Houston held on for the 119-115 win
• On Monday, it was Houston that needed to make a comeback, and rallied from 13 points down to win their fourth straight game.

Rockets 120, Grizzlies 118: Jalen Green matched his career-high with 42 points, capped with the go-ahead driving layup above with 33.8 seconds left that put Houston up for good. | Recap | Watch the Final 5:00

• Season Series: With the win, the Rockets increased their lead over the Grizzlies for No. 2 in the West to 2.0 games and clinched the season series (3-0 with one game to play)
• Houston Helpers: Amen Thompson scored 12 of his 19 in the 4th while adding 13 rebounds and five blocks, while Alperen Sengun added 17 points, five dimes and three steals

Timberwolves 120, Wizards 106: How did Anthony Edwards respond to being held to 15 points in Minnesota’s loss to Memphis on Saturday? By dropping 41 points – including 20 in the 4th quarter – to lead the Wolves to their fourth win in five games. | Recap

• Ant Does It All: Edwards (41 pts, 6 reb, 7 ast, 3 stl) posted his fifth career game with 40+ pts, 5+ reb and 5+ ast and tied Kevin Garnett for the most games with 30+ pts and 3+ stl (14) in Wolves history

On Dec. 7, the Pistons went into New York and snapped a 16-game losing streak to the Knicks that dated back to Feb. 8, 2020.

On Monday, the Pistons went back to New York and got their second straight win against the Knicks to begin a streak of their own.

Pistons 124, Knicks 119: Cade Cunningham dropped a game-high 36 points, while Malik Beasley added 22 points and six 3s – including two in the final minute to ice the game. | Recap | Watch the Final 4:22

• Detroit Rolling: The Pistons overcame a combined 84 points from Jalen Brunson (31), Karl-Anthony Towns (26) and Mikal Bridges (27) to win for the 10th time in their last 12 games
• “He put us on his back,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said following Cunningham’s big night at MSG

Raptors 104, Warriors 101: Scottie Barnes stuffed the stat sheet (23 pts, 8 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), while Chris Boucher scored 17 of his 18 in the 4th quarter and Ochai Agbaji hit the go-ahead layup with 1:33 to play as the Raptors rallied past the Warriors. | Recap

3. PACERS, KINGS PUT STREAKS ON THE LINE TONIGHT

The last two unbeaten teams in 2025 – the Pacers and Kings – put their win streaks on the line tonight in Cleveland and Milwaukee, respectively.

Pacers, Cavs Run It Back (7 ET, TNT): On Sunday, the Pacers ended the Cavs’ 12-game win streak with a 108-93 win in Indianapolis despite Tyrese Haliburton sitting out the second half due to hamstring tightness. He is doubtful for today’s game.

• Balanced Offense: Andrew Nembhard led six Pacers in double figures with 19 points in the win. Indy is one of two teams in the NBA this season without a 20+ ppg scorer. Instead, they have seven players averaging 10+ points
• Ball Control: Sunday’s win was the latest example of the Pacers sharing with their teammates (31.0 assists during the streak, 2nd in NBA) and not with others (league-best 11.3 turnovers per game)
• Stingy Defense: The Pacers became the first team to hold the Cavs under 100 points as Cleveland’s 93 points on Sunday was 29.1 below its season average

Kings Go For 8 Straight Beams (8 ET, LP): When the Kings made their coaching change on Dec. 27, the team was on a five-game losing streak to fall to 13-18 on the season. Since then, the Kings have gone 7-1 to get back over .500 and climb from 12th to 9th in the West.

• Tonight, the Kings go for their eighth straight win under interim coach Doug Christie – which would be their longest streak since 2003-04 – when they visit Milwaukee, a place they have not won a game since 2015
• New Coach’s Image: What happens when a four-time All-Defensive Team player takes over as head coach? The defense improves. Sacramento ranked 16th in defensive rating (112.9) when Christie took over. During the streak, the Kings rank second (106.5)
• Winning Close Games: Prior to the coaching change, the Kings were just 6-13 (.316 win%, 28th in NBA) in games featuring clutch time. Since the change, they are 4-0, outscoring teams by 21 points in 22 clutch minutes

4. TRIPLE-DOUBLE BROS LEAD NUGGETS INTO DALLAS

Tonight (9:30 ET, TNT), the last two teams to represent the West in the NBA Finals meet for the second time in three days, and for the final time this regular season, when the Mavs host the Nuggets.

• Series Finale: No. 4 Denver holds a 1.5-game lead over No. 5 Dallas in the West standings and a win tonight would clinch the season series (3-1) and the head-to-head tiebreaker
• Mavs Shorthanded: Luka Dončić (calf) remains out for Dallas, while Kyrie Irving (back) is listed as questionable. Without the duo on Sunday, the Mavs led by 19, but were unable to hold off Denver
• AG Back: Sunday was the first game back since Christmas for Aaron Gordon, who had 13 points in 18 minutes off the bench

During Gordon’s absence, Russell Westbrook stepped into the Nuggets’ starting lineup and has found success playing with the first unit (13-4 as a starter), particularly alongside Nikola Jokić.

• With 347 combined triple-doubles between them, Westbrook (202, 1st all-time) and Jokić (145, 3rd) have shown a natural chemistry when it comes to reading the game and one another
• Coach Michael Malone On Westbrook: “Russ has a great understanding of reading when the double-team happens, slow playing it and then putting himself on the rim.”

Here are a few more examples of two of the greatest do-it-all players in NBA history working in harmony.

The defender is slow getting around the Jokić pick, as Russ explodes to the rim.

Jokić’s defender stops Russ off the screen so Russ threads the needle to Jokic for the runner.

Exploiting the defensive switch with a quick give-and-go.

Four more games on League Pass round out the night – Thunder at Sixers (7 ET), Suns at Hawks (7:30 ET), Pelicans at Bulls (8 ET) and Nets at Blazers (10 ET).

5. THE REMATCH: OKC LOOKS TO GET EVEN

Just eight days after their historic matchup last Wednesday in Cleveland, the Cavaliers and Thunder will run it back Thursday night in Oklahoma City (7:30 ET, TNT) in the final regular-season matchup of the two conference leaders.

The Cavs took Round 1 of this matchup of heavyweights, snapping the Thunder’s franchise-record 15-game win streak with a 129-122 victory.

• How Has OKC Responded? Immediately following their first loss in over a month, the Thunder beat the Knicks (25) and Wizards (41) by a combined 66 points
• What’s Next? Tonight’s game in Philadelphia (7 ET, League Pass) wraps a four-game road trip before the Thunder return to face the Cavs at home, where they are 16-2 this season

As OKC approaches “The Rematch” with Cleveland and the regular-season’s midpoint, here are five things you need to know about the Thunder’s season to this point.

• SGA’s Run At MVP: After finishing as the runner up to Nikola Jokić last season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander moved past the Joker in the latest Kia MVP Ladder. Shai leads the NBA in 30+ point games (22), ranks second in scoring (31.4 ppg) and third in steals (2.0 spg)
• JDub’s Career Year: After a breakout sophomore season, Jalen Williams has continued to rise, posting career-best numbers across the board: 20.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 5.2 apg, 1.7 spg, 0.7 bpg
• iHart’s Perfect Fit: Playing a career-high 29.7 mpg, Isaiah Hartenstein has impacted the game all over the court – from scoring (11.9 ppg) to rebounding (12.0 rpg), playmaking (4.2 apg) and rim protection (1.3 bpg) – with OKC 21-2 with him in the lineup
• Elite Wing Defenders: The Thunder have the best defensive rating (102.9) by nearly four points per 100 possessions. A key to their defense: having players like Lu Dort and Cason Wallace hounding opposing wings and forcing turnovers
• 3-Point Threats: OKC does not rank in the top 10 in 3-pointers made, attempted or percentage, but with Dort (2.2) and Isaiah Joe (2.2) joining SGA (2.1) with over two 3s per game, the Thunder have enough threats to keep the lane open