The Celtics are the fourth team this century to open a season with at least 20 straight home wins. Can they be the first of those teams to win the title in the same season?
Find out the last team to do it in Section 4.
THE LINEUP 🏀
- 👀 Must-see from Thursday night
- 💥 Big 4th leads to MIN’s 4th straight W
- ⭐ Third All-Star returns, how they stack up
- 🏠 Boston at home vs. defending champs
- 🔥 Heat to retire Haslem’s No. 40 tonight
ESPN doubleheader: The Celtics try to keep their home dominance going against the defending champs (7:30 ET, see Section 4 for more). The Lakers go for their first three-game win streak since the first week of December when they host the Nets (10:30 ET).
Going for 3: Today is the final 3-for-1 day of All-Star Voting presented by AT&T. Every vote cast until 11:59 p.m. ET tonight counts for three.
1. FRIDAY MORNING MUST-SEE
🐜 The Ant-Man Show
- Best dunk yet? Anthony Edwards unleashed a self alley-oop slam in the third quarter vs. Memphis. After the game, he called it the “best dunk of my career.” Do you agree?
- Encore: One highlight dunk is never enough for Edwards, who capped off a huge fourth quarter for the Wolves with the exclamation point slam and smile
- Pass the (Rock) jersey: Edwards and Jaren Jackson Jr. –stars of the first two episodes of Pass The Rock, Season 2 – swapped jerseys postgame
1️⃣ Debut Games
- Bruce in the 6: Bruce Brown was traded to Toronto as part of the Pascal Siakam deal on Wednesday. He wasted little time getting his first bucket as he finished with 15 points in his Raptors debut
- Bagley in D.C.: Marvin Bagley III posted a 20/11 game in his Wizards debut, finding instant chemistry with Jordan Poole for this pick-and-roll slam
💥 More Top Plays
- DeMar back in Toronto: After signing some autographs for longtime fans from his Raptors days, DeRozan got to work, unleashing a slick pump fake, up-and-under for the and-1 floater
- Too smooth: Poole broke out the handles and footwork for the spinning jumper. Here’s a second look in slow-mo
- Persistence personified: Jaren Jr.’s first attempt was blocked by Rudy Gobert, but he recovered and went back up for the poster
- Get out: Scottie Barnes with the massive rejection on Nikola Vucevic’s shot in the lane. Stick around for the second angle, it’s worth a second look
- Villanova connection: Check out this defense-to-offense sequence for the Knicks. It started with Donte DiVincenzo spiking a shot attempt off the glass, Jalen Brunson recovered the loose ball push in transition for the and-1 layup
2. BIG 4TH PUSHES WOLVES WIN STREAK TO 4
After scoring 26 points in the 2nd half to lead a Wolves comeback, Anthony Edwards joins Inside the NBA live from Minnesota.
🐺 Wolves 118, Grizzlies 103: The Grizzlies led by five entering the fourth before Anthony Edwards (12 of his team-high 28 in the 4th) and the Wolves outscored them 37-17 to close the game. Naz Reid added 20 points and four 3s off the Minnesota bench as the Wolves got their fourth straight win. | Recap
- 30 Wins: The Wolves (30-11) joined the Celtics (32-9) as the first teams to reach 30 wins. Minnesota needed only 41 games to reach 30 wins compared to 58 last season
🗽 Knicks 113, Wizards 109: Jalen Brunson (41 pts, 8 reb, 8 ast) scored 20 in the fourth to lead the Knicks past the Wizards. Julius Randle (21 pts, 8 reb) and OG Anunoby (19 pts, 7 reb) combined for 40 points. | Recap
🐂 Bulls 116, Raptors 110: Bruce Brown hit a layup with 4:15 to play to put Toronto up by four. From that point, the Bulls closed the game on a 13-3 run, capped by Coby White’s dagger floater with 20 seconds left. Chicago got 24 points apiece from DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic, while White finished with 23. | Recap
⛈️ Thunder 134, Jazz 129: The Thunder played streak snappers on Thursday as their victory ended Utah’s six-game win streak and halted a two-game slide for OKC. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast) and Jalen Williams (27 pts, 8 ast) combined for 58 for the Thunder, while Collin Sexton (31 pts, 7 ast) led the Jazz. | Recap
🏎️ Pacers 126, Kings 121: With Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) sidelined, his teammates still beat his former squad. Benn Mathurin (25 pts) and TJ McConnell (20 pts, 10 ast) combined for 45 points as the Pacers withstood a late 15-4 Kings push. Kevin Huerter (31 pts, 7 3s) led Sacramento, which lost its fourth straight, while Domantas Sabonis (21 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast) took sole possession of 11th place on the all-time triple-double list with his 44th. | Recap
3. THIRD ALL-STAR RETURNS RELEASED
The clock is ticking as NBA All-Star Voting presented by AT&T wraps up Saturday at 11:59 p.m. ET. That means just two more days to get your votes cast, including today’s final 3-for-1 day where every vote counts for three.
The third fan returns were released on Thursday with Giannis Antetokounmpo (4.3 million votes) and LeBron James (3.9 million votes) continuing to lead their respective conferences.
The next announcement comes next Thursday, Jan. 25 (7 ET, TNT), when the Inside the NBA crew reveals the starters for both conferences, as the game returns to the traditional East vs. West format in 2024.
A reminder that fans account for 50% of the vote to determine the starters, while current NBA players and a media panel account for 25% each.
If the fan vote holds, the starters would be:
- East: Tyrese Haliburton and Trae Young backcourt; Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum frontcourt
- West: Luka Doncic and Steph Curry backcourt; LeBron James, Nikola Jokic and Kevin Durant frontcourt
If that is the matchup, which squad would have the advantage?
- The West Starters (via the fan returns) includes three players 35 or older, compared to the East Starters that features all five players under 30. The average age of a West starter is six years older than the East and has twice the amount of NBA experience
- The average West Starter makes more 3s and shoots the 3 at a higher percentage, while the average East Starter takes advantage of the free throw line more
- The average East Starter more than doubles the plus/minus of an average West starter
4. BOSTON HOME STREAK ON THE LINE VS. DEFENDING CHAMPS
Can anybody beat the Celtics at TD Garden in Boston?
16 teams have tried. 4 teams have tried twice. All have failed.
The Celtics have opened the season 20-0 at home, the best start in franchise history, and tied for the 11th-best home start in NBA history.
- 39: 2015-16 Spurs
- 37: 1995-96 Bulls*
- 36: 2015-16 Warriors^
- 33: 1995-96 Magic
- 27: 1946-47 Capitols
- 26: 1977-78 Blazers
- 23: 2008-09 Cavaliers
- 23: 1949-50 Royals
- 22: 1966-67 Sixers*
- 21: 1994-95 Magic^
- 20: 1985-86 Rockets^
- 20: 1952-53 Nationals
* Won NBA Finals | ^ Lost NBA Finals
Of the previous 12 teams to open a season 20-0 at home, two went on to win the NBA Finals in the same season: the 1995-96 Bulls and 1966-67 Sixers
Three other teams made it to the Finals but lost: 2015-16 Warriors, 1994-95 Magic, 1985-86 Rockets. However, seven teams did not reach the Finals despite a dominant home start
The Celtics have been tested during this home win streak as 12 of the 20 wins came against teams that are currently .500 or better. They have another five wins over teams currently ranked top four in their respective conference.
Tonight, they host the defending champion Nuggets for Denver’s only visit to Boston. While the Nuggets won the last meeting between these teams (in Denver), Boston won the previous six (dating back to Dec. 2019) including four straight at TD Garden.
5. UD40: THE EPITOME OF HEAT CULTURE
This season, the Miami Heat debuted a new court and their latest City Edition uniforms celebrating the concept of “Heat Culture.”
The key is painted black with the following words in all caps in bright red font:
Hardest Working.
Best Conditioned.
Most Professional.
Unselfish.
Toughest. Meanest.
Nastiest Team
In The NBA.
The Heat could have cut that down to two words:
Udonis Haslem.
No player embodied the concept of Heat Culture more than UD. He went undrafted out of Florida in 2002 with many listing his lack of size at the power forward position. He began his professional career in France, and put up impressive numbers while dropping 50 pounds to get in peak shape for another run at the NBA.
He signed with the Heat as a free agent on Aug. 6, 2003. It was the beginning of a unique 20-year playing career that saw Haslem serve as a starter on championship teams, a reserve bringing toughness off the bench, a mentor and quasi-assistant coach during his latter years, the gatekeeper and standard-bearer that all players that wear a Heat jersey must match.
Haslem’s playing career ended in June at his seventh NBA Finals. On Friday, the Heat will celebrate Haslem by retiring his No. 40. Even with his playing career over, UD is still a mainstay within the organization, now serving as vice president of basketball development.
When trying to measure what Haslem has meant to the Heat, his numbers don’t come close to matching his impact: 5,791 rebounds (1st), 879 games (2nd), 6,586 points (7th), 252 blocks (10th), 424 steals (12th).
He was never an All-Star or an Olympian, but he is a three-time champion and part of the fabric of not only the Heat, but the city itself.
- Heat President Pat Riley: “Udonis is Miami.”
- Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade: “It shows you how special UD is. It shows you how impactful not only his game was, his voice is, but what he means to this community.”
- Teammates Showing Love: Heat players past and present leave messages for UD ahead of his jersey retirement
A key piece of Haslem’s legacy is spending his entire two-decade career with the Heat. Only Kobe Bryant (20 with the Lakers) and Dirk Nowitzki (21 with the Mavs) have had such a long run with one team.
