Happy Monday ☀️

Let’s have a week.

TODAY’S GAMES 🏀

📺 Knicks-Celtics, 7:30 ET, NBA TV
📺 Cavs-Kings, 10 ET, NBA TV
📲 2 more in NBA App

1. MAXEY’S 50 LEADS SIXERS TO 8 IN A ROW 🔔

John Jones/NBAE via Getty Images

🔔 SIXERS 137, PACERS 126
📲 Recap | Standings

Coming into the year, Tyrese Maxey was generating a bunch of buzz for his breakout potential.

Safe to say he’s well on his way.

With his numbers already on the rise early in his fourth season, Maxey scored a career-high 50 points on Sunday to join Sixers lore:

• Became the sixth Sixer ever with 50+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists (Allen Iverson, Joel Embiid, Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer, Dana Barros). He also joined AI as the only Sixers with 50+ points at 23 or younger
• Maxey and Embiid became the first Sixers duo to both score 37+ in a game in 57 years (Wilt and Greer, 1966)
• The postgame celebration was the only thing that cooled Maxey down, with Embiid fanning Maxey (before calling him The Franchise on social) and Patrick Beverley dousing him with water
• After dropping the second 50-piece of the NBA season, Maxey dedicated the win to teammate Kelly Oubre, Jr. who was hospitalized with injuries after being struck by a vehicle on Saturday

Maxey wasn’t the only Tyrese to connect with Iverson on Sunday.

• Tyrese Haliburton became the third-youngest player in NBA history with 25+ points and 15+ assists with no turnovers, joining Iverson and Chris Paul

2. ROCKETS BEAT JOKIC, NUGGETS FOR 6TH STRAIGHT W 🚀

Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images

🚀 ROCKETS 107, NUGGETS 104
📲 Recap | Standings

How’s this for a statement win? Beating the defending champs when two-time MVP Nikola Jokic posts a 35-20-10 game.

• Fred VanVleet (26 pts, 4 ast) and Alperen Sengun (23 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk) led the Rockets to their first six-game win streak since 2021
• Jokic (36 pts, 21 reb, 11 ast) posted the third 35-20-10 game of his career, tying him with Elgin Baylor for second-most ever, behind Wilt’s 11
• The Rockets survived a late Nuggets rally as Denver’s 14-5 run cut Houston’s lead from 10 to one with 20 seconds left. Watch the final 4:50 here

Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images

🚀 TIMBERWOLVES 116, WARRIORS 110
📲 Recap | Standings

The first Anthony Edwards-Steph Curry duel of the season went to Ant, as the Wolves won their sixth straight.

The good news for Steph? They run it back in two days for the In-Season Tournament.

• Edwards (33 pts, 6 reb, 7 ast) and Curry (38 pts, 5 ast, 5 3s) each scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, with Ant icing the game with back-to-back buckets in the final two minutes. Curry’s record-setting streak of 4+ 3’s to start the season has now reached 11 games
• Non-Stop Steph: He may be 35, but the neverending movement and shiftiness of Steph Curry on this and-one leaves his teammates speechless
• No Days Off: Ant posters do not take Sundays off

3. SUNDAY ROUNDUP: CLOSING OUT AN 11-GAME NIGHT 🏀

Sean Gardner/NBAE via Getty Images

🐴 MAVERICKS 136, PELICANS 124
📲 Recap | Standings

• This is the type of game Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic envisioned: both drop 30+ points and Mavs win
• Kyrie had 35 points and seven 3s (including this friendly bounce), while Luka added 30 points and four 3s (including this smooth pull-up step-back) to help Dallas match Denver atop the West at 8-2

🌇 LAKERS 116, BLAZERS 110
📲 Recap | Standings

• With LeBron sidelined (and catching up with D-Wade), Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 30 points, 13 boards, six dimes and three blocks to get L.A. back to .500. Austin Reaves, Cam Reddish and Rui Hachimura each scored 18+ on a combined 59% shooting
• Must see dime: Stay for both angles of this pass from Reaves to AD for the and-one

🔥 HEAT 118, SPURS 113
📲 Recap | Standings

• After opening the season 1-4, the Heat have won five straight, rallying past the Spurs behind a combined 50 points from Duncan Robinson (26) and Bam Adebayo (24) – who each scored 10 in the fourth as Miami overcame a 10-point deficit in the final 6:46. Watch the finish here
• Unblockable shots: Kareem’s skyhook, Dirk’s one-legged fadeaway, and this fadeaway jumper from Victor Wembanyama over Bam

⛈️ THUNDER 111, SUNS 99
📲 Recap | Standings

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (35) posted his fourth-straight 30+ point game to pair with Jalen Williams’ 31, as Thunder outscored the Suns 31-13 in the fourth 

Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images

🗽 KNICKS 129, HORNETS 107
📲 Recap | Standings

• RJ Barrett (24), Julius Randle (23) and Jalen Brunson (20) each went for 20+ points as the Knicks jumped over .500. Immanuel Quickley didn’t score 20, but did deliver this buzzer-beater and dance combo to end the first quarter

🌃 NETS 102, WIZARDS 94
📲 Recap | Standings

• Trailing by five points with four minutes left, the Nets closed the game on a 15-2 run to get the comeback win behind Mikal Bridges’ 27 points and career-high 13 boards

🐻 GRIZZLIES 105, CLIPPERS 101
📲 Recap | Standings

• Desmond Bane had 27 points and Marcus Smart added 17 points and seven dimes (including the dive on the floor and tip the ball to your teammate assist) for the Grizzlies.
• Memphis led by 14 early in the fourth quarter before LA rallied to set up a fantastic finish. Watch the final 4:05 here

🐂 BULLS 119, PISTONS 108
📲 Recap | Standings

• DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points, none prettier than this euro-step up-and-under and-one in traffic, as the Bulls earned their fourth win of the season

4. THE PIVOT: THIS WEEKEND & WHAT’S AHEAD ⚖️

Chris Coduto/NBAE via Getty Images

Friday: 9 In-Season Tournament Games

• Lakers Take LeBron vs. Durant Duel: Making their In-Season Tournament debuts – and 37th meeting overall – LBJ (32) and KD (38) added another brilliant chapter in their rivalry
• Luka x Bron & MJ: Doncic dropped 44 in a win over the Clippers, joining LeBron and Jordan as the only players with more than 30 games of 40+ points at 25 or younger
• Who Won? The Celtics, 76ers, Timberwolves, Hornets, Mavs, Jazz, Lakers and Kings all notched their first Tournament wins
• Standings: Tap in for wins, losses and point differentials before Tournament Night No. 3 on Tuesday 

Saturday

• Magic Snap Losing Streak vs. Bucks: Orlando held Milwaukee to a season-low 97 points to break a 14-game losing streak to the Bucks, tied for the NBA’s longest active streak against one opponent
• KP x KG: Kristaps Porzingis became the first Celtic since Kevin Garnett with 175 points and 50 rebounds in his first nine games with Boston
• Curry Crosses 22K: Stephen Curry (30 pts) reached 22,000 points for his career, though the Dubs fell to the Cavs
• Bam Goes Big: Miami’s Adebayo had 26 and 17 to become the first Heat player to have 75+ points, 45+ rebounds & 15+ assists over any three-game span in the regular season

Jim McIsaac/NBAE via Getty Images

🔔 KNICKS-CELTICS
📲 7:30 ET, NBA TV

So much has happened since the Knicks and Celtics met on opening night.

But one thing’s stayed the same: Porzingis, who played his first three seasons in New York and broke a late tie on Night One, has remained a massive presence for Boston. 

He’ll face his old squad tonight in a showdown between the East’s No. 2 team and one of its hottest.

• Immediate Chemistry: The new-look Celtics Starting 5 – Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, plus Porzingis and Jrue Holiday – has dominated, with the league’s best NetRtg for any 5-man lineup (min 7 games). They’re outscoring opponents by 41 (!!) per 100
• Heating Up: After starting 2-4, the Knicks have won three straight, thanks to a red-hot RJ Barrett (24.7 ppg, 53%) and resurgent Julius Randle (averaging 24-10) during this stretch

📲 Wizards at Raptors, 7:30 ET, NBA App

📲 Bulls at Bucks, 8 ET, NBA App

📺 Cavs at Kings, 10 ET, NBA TV

5. SIGNATURE MOVE: GREEK FREAK GOING COAST TO COAST ⚡

NBAE via Getty Images / NBA Graphics

The things Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to do on a basketball court makes you question if he is really from this world. 

That includes this almost supernatural, spinning poster dunk on Saturday.

This one came from halfcourt. 

But it showed The Greek Freak at his best – when he’s on the move in transition.

Few people on Earth can cover 94 feet like he can: in four dribbles. His long strides seem almost effortless – shattering the norms for a player his size.

Ahead of Bucks-Bulls, watch more of his Coast-to-Coast slams, as part of our new signature moves series.