Starting 5 Daily Newsletter

NBA Starting 5, Jan. 12: Donovan Mitchell shines in Paris

Donovan Mitchell scores a Paris-record 45 points, the Bucks and Mavericks soil some homecomings and a look at an NBA-soccer connection.

NBA.com

January 12, 2024 2:28 PM

“A very electric basketball city.”

– Donovan Mitchell, on Paris

THE LINEUP 🏀

👀 Must-see from Thursday
🇫🇷 Spida, Cavs stay hot in Paris
💪 Mavs, Bucks spoil return games
📸 Soccer ⚽✖️🏀 NBA connections
⭐ All-Star return GIF reactions

📺 ESPN Doubleheader: The Kings are 2-0 on their current five-game road trip, which stops in Philly for a matchup with the Sixers without Joel Embiid (7:30 ET). The Pelicans enter Friday’s game in Denver looking for their seventh win in their last eight games (10 ET).

✅ All-Star 3-for-1 Voting Day: The second fan returns for All-Star voting were released on Thursday (see Section 5). Did they match your picks? Make your voice heard today as every vote counts for three until 11:59 p.m. ET.

1. FRIDAY MORNING MUST-SEE

Must-see plays from LeBron James, Chet Holmgren and Josh Okogie mark our Top 10 from Thursday's games.

🔥 Top Plays

Parisian flavor: Donovan Mitchell hit the Nets with the spin move into the up-and-under reverse layup in Paris
Hulk Smash!: Giannis Antetokounmpo with the strong finish at the rim and the mean mug reaction as the Bucks rolled
Getting fancy: LeBron had nine dimes against the Suns, none better than this behind-the-back dish from the 3-point line to D’Angelo Russell at the basket
How did this go in? Chet Holmgren was headed to the bucket in transition, got fouled on the gather across both arms and the ball somehow banked in for an and-1
Poster time: Josh Okogie saw an open lane and drove to the hoop for the dunk. Enter Jaxson Hayes, who got there just too late for the block, but just in time for the poster
Dishing & swishing: In addition to scoring 44 points (his most as a Mav), Kyrie Irving dropped 10 dimes, including this long distance bounce pass to Josh Green

💥 Top Moments

Spida 🤝 Beckham: The Man of the Match Donovan Mitchell was congratulated by soccer legend David Beckham after his Paris-record 45-point performance. More hoops and soccer connections in Section 4
Celebrity row: What do Kylian Mbappé, Sabrina Ionescu and Pharrell and have in common? They were out for the NBA’s third-ever regular-season game in Paris … with more stars in Los Angeles
How long is too long? Lakers coach Darvin Ham and referee Gediminas Petraitis debated how long is too long to wish someone a Happy New Year

2. MITCHELL SCORES PARIS-RECORD 45

Donovan Mitchell finished with 45 points and 12 rebounds as the Cavaliers defeated the Nets in the 2024 NBA Paris game.

⚔️ Cavaliers 111, Nets 102: Donovan Mitchell scored a season-high and Paris-record 45 points, leading the Cavs to their fourth straight win, this one in wire-to-wire fashion over Brooklyn. | Recap

Elite company: Mitchell scored 21 of those 45 in the 4th quarter while adding 12 rebounds, six assists and four steals, joining LeBron James (Nov. 3, 2017) as the only Cavs with a 45+ pts, 10+ reb, 5+ ast, 3+ stl game
🗣️ Spida on the win: “That was a lot of fun. To do it in Paris and do it as a group, that’s the biggest thing.”
More Paris hoops in 2024? “I’d love to come back and play in the Olympics,” Mitchell said. “This city is a very electric basketball city.”
Another double-double: Jarrett Allen (12 pts, 12 reb, 4 blk) has eight straight double-doubles, the longest streak of his career

On the Ground in Paris

Thursday’s game drew a star-studded crowd, from French basketball legends to European soccer stars (see Section 4) to musicians and more.

Commissioner Speaks: Adam Silver sees this as a ‘golden era of French basketball’
Paris Fits: When you’re playing in the fashion capital of the world, you have to arrive in style
French basketball legends: Tony Parker, Joakim Noah, Kevin Seraphin, Ian Mahinmi and Mickael Pietrus received a huge ovation
Guess the NBA Player: Mikal Bridges and Sabrina Ionescu have three clues to figure out the answer. See how they did and try it yourself with NBA Play

3. MAVS, BUCKS SPOIL RETURN GAMES

🐴 Mavs 128, Knicks 124: Just over a year ago, Luka Doncic posted the NBA’s first-ever 60-20-10 game against the Knicks in Dallas. 381 days later, with Luka out (ankle), it was Kyrie’s turn to be New York’s nemesis in Dallas as he dropped 44 points and 10 assists to snap NY’s five-game win streak. | Recap

Fast start: Dallas put up 44 points and eight 3s in the first quarter and held off every New York run for the wire-to-wire win
From downtown Dallas: Kyrie and Tim Hardaway Jr. (32 points) each splashed six 3s
Knicks duo: Julius Randle (32) and Jalen Brunson (30) each scored 30+ points for the sixth time as teammates, second most of any New York duo (Richie Guerin and Willie Naulls have 19)
Brunson returns: This was Brunson’s first game action in Dallas since signing with the Knicks as a free agent in the 2022 offseason. He was in Dallas but injured during Luka’s historic game last season. It was all love with his former teammates postgame

🦌 Bucks 135, Celtics 102: Milwaukee got a pair of 20/10 games from Bobby Portis (28 pts, 12 reb, 5 3s) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (24 pts, 12 reb, 6 ast) and used a 25-0 first-half burst to run away from Boston in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 clash in the East. | Recap

Bouncing back: After losing four of their last five games, the Bucks (26-12) got a statement win over the NBA-leading Celtics (29-9)
Spoiled return: Jrue Holiday reunited with former teammates pregame, but once the ball tipped, the Bucks made sure his first game back in Milwaukee would be a loss

⛈️ Thunder 139, Blazers 77: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points in 21 minutes as the Thunder rolled to their biggest win in franchise history and tied the fifth-largest margin of victory in NBA history with a 62-point win over Portland. | Recap

📊 Largest margin of victory, OKC/SEA history

62: OKC (139) v. POR (77), 1/11/2024
56: SEA (149) v. PHI (93), 3/6/1993
56: SEA (136) at HOU (80), 12/6/1986

📊 Largest margin of victory, NBA history

73: MEM (152) v. OKC (79), 12/2/2021
68: CLE (148) v. MIA (80), 12/17/1991
65: IND (124) v. POR (59), 2/27/1998
63: LAL (162) v. GSW (99), 3/19/1972
62: OKC (139) v. POR (77), 1/11/2024
62: GSW (153) v. SAC (91), 11/2/1991
62: SYR (162) v. NYK (100), 12/25/1960

☀️ Suns 127, Lakers 109: Bradley Beal dropped season-highs of 37 points and eight 3s to lead the Suns past the Lakers. Devin Booker added 31 points and Kevin Durant another 18 to give the big three a combined 86 points – their most as a trio. LeBron James kept his 10+ point game streak (1,187) going with 10 points and nine assists. | Recap

4. NBA BALLERS X FOOTBALLERS AT GLOBAL GAMES

NBA players & soccer superstars show love all year round, with stars popping up at each other’s games (see: Vini Jr’s recent tour). But it really turns up at European Global Games.

It was on full display on Thursday as soccer stars such as England’s David Beckham, France’s Kylian Mbappé and Brazil’s Ronaldo were on hand for the NBA Paris Game between the Cavs and Nets.

From KG in Chelsea to the Antetokounbros & Mbappé, dive into a few iconic interactions between superstars from both sports during Euro Global Games right here.

5. ALL-STAR RETURNS: FAN STARTERS GIF REACTIONS

Giannis Antetokounmpo (3.5 million) and LeBron James (3.1 million) lead their respective conferences in the second fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting presented by AT&T.

While fans account for 50% of the vote to determine the starters for the 2024 All-Star Game, we look at the current fan starters with a standout reaction (and the play that caused it) from this season.

Western Conference

Guard: Luka Doncic | Video: Luka gets it done on both ends