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Nightly Pulse: NBA News & Highlights from Jan. 8

The Thunder and Cavaliers headline a loaded slate of NBA action tonight. Follow along here for all the NBA news and highlights.

NBA.com Staff

🏀 NBA Scores Tonight 🏀

Cavaliers 129, Thunder 122

76ers 109, Wizards 103

Pacers 129, Bulls 113

Pistons 113, Nets 98

Knicks 112, Raptors 98

Trail Blazers 119, Pelicans 100

Nuggets 126, Clippers 103

Bucks 121, Spurs 105

📰 Biggest NBA takeaways tonight 

  1. Cavs outlast Thunder in instant classic: This was as big of a matchup as you’ll find during the regular season as it pitted the two 1-seeds from either conference – both on double-digit win streaks – squaring off. The game lived up to the hype and then some. There were 30 lead changes and eight ties. No team led by double-digits. It was pure cinema in Cleveland on Wednesday night and the Cavaliers delivered a win in front of the home crowd with a 129-122 win over the Thunder.
  2. Giannis outduels Wemby: Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks hosted Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs tonight. It was the two-time MVP who had the upper hand as Antetokounmpo went for 25 points and 16 boards. He surpassed all-time great, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most double-doubles in franchise history with 432.
  3. Nuggets bounce back sans Jokić: Denver was without its star player for the second straight game Wednesday as it got set to play the Clippers to round out a back-to-back. The team rallied without Jokić and routed the Clips 126-103 for an important win. The Clippers had taken the first two games of the season series, and the two teams are jockeying for playoff position.

📈Top NBA performers tonight 

  • Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers: Team-high 25 points, 11 rebounds, six assists in statement win over Thunder.
  • Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks: 27 points, 13 rebounds, three steals in return vs. Raptors
  • Jared Butler, Washington Wizards: Career-high 26 points, seven assists and four rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench vs 76ers.

🥇Giannis makes franchise history in Bucks win

Bucks 121, Spurs 105

Giannis Antetokounmpo went for 25 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists in Milwaukee’s 121-105 win over the Spurs. With that double-double, Antetokounmpo surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the Bucks’ all-time record in that category. He now has seven consecutive double-doubles.

⛰️ Nuggets hold serve at home vs Clippers

Nuggets 126, Clippers 103

Denver salvaged a split in its back-to-back set after falling to the Celtics on Tuesday by rebounding in resounding fashion against the Clippers.

The Nuggets raced out to a 14-point lead after the first quarter and by early in the third quarter, their win probability swelled to over 90 percent. They shot 55.1 percent from the floor and 48.6 percent from three while holding the Clippers to 37.5 percent and 28.9 percent in those same categories.

A dominant win like this is stellar in its own right, but doing so without Nikola Jokić makes it all more impressive.

No Joker? No problem.

The Nuggets are without Nikola Jokić for tonight’s game but it doesn’t seem to be an issue for them as they hold a near 30-point lead in the fourth quarter. Every Denver starter has scored in double-figures, led by Jamal Murray’s 21 points.

Norman Powell has been a bright spot for the Clips though as he’s cooked up 30 points with 9:00 still to go.

Bucks up big on Spurs at half

The stars are in the building at Fiserv Forum with Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs in town to face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. Thus far, it’s been all Milwaukee with the Bucks taking a 19-point lead into the break.

Giannis is up to 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists, including this sweet behind-the-back dish to AJ Green for the triple.

Of course, no Spurs update would be without a Wemby clip. Here he is burying a 1-legged running 3 coming off a filthy pump fake.

🔢 Score updates around the NBA

Knicks snap skid, take down Raptors

The Knicks were mired in a three-game losing skid going into Wednesday before perking back up with a 112-98 win over the Raptors. Karl-Anthony Towns returned and posted 27 points and 13 boards. Immanuel Quickley paced Toronto in scoring with 22.

Short-handed Sixers hold off Wizards

The 76ers were without Paul George and Joel Embiid for tonight’s matchup with Washington. Tyrese Maxey was terrific as per usual with 29 points, but it was Guerschon Yabusele who stepped up when the Sixers needed some added punch in their lineup. Yabusele canned five 3-pointers en route to scoring 21 points — one point shy of his season-high.

On the other side, Jared Butler had a career night off the bench for Washington with 26 points.

Pacers tame Bulls

The Pacers trailed 4-2 in the opening minutes of Wednesday’s game against the Bulls before retaking the lead and never looking back. Indiana never relinquished the lead from there and led by as many as 34 points as they reached the 20-win mark.

Chicago’s Zach LaVine put forth another strong effort with 31 points but no other Bull scored more than 19. Meanwhile, the Pacers had six players score in double figures. Tyrese Haliburton made his mark in a number of ways with 16 points to go with 13 assists.

Perhaps the most important moment was the Pacers deploying a lineup with the lowest possible jersey number combo, though 🤣

🗣️ DEEEETROIT BASKETBALL

The Pistons are officially rolling, having won five in a row to move above .500 on the year. Five Pistons scored in double figures, lead by Malik Beasley’s 23 points.

Detroit trailed once during the entire game and it was only by one point, underscoring how dominant of a performance it was.

🤯 Cavs conquer Thunder, snap OKC’s win streak

The most-hyped regular season game of the year had all the ingredients of an instant-classic Wednesday as the Cavaliers held on to topple the Thunder 129-122.

So much was on the line coming into this matchup. Two teams with double-digit winning streaks. Two teams at the top of their respective conference. Two teams with win percentages north of 85 percent.

The game was back-and-forth throughout from a feel-out first quarter to an offensive explosion in the third quarter when 84 combined points were scored. In all, there were 30 lead changes and neither team ever established a lead greater than nine points.

The Thunder’s franchise-record win streak comes to an end while the Cavaliers’ streak (11) continues.

😬 Crunch time in Cavs vs Thunder

1:18 to go. Cavs up by three. Buckle up

Unsung heroes standing tall for Cleveland

While Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell have had solid outings in Wednesday’s marquee matchup against the Thunder, it’s been the Cavs’ depth making a big difference. Overall, the team has seven players scoring in double-figures including 15 for Ty Jerome and 17 for Max Strus off the bench. Jarrett Allen has been Cleveland’s leading scorer with 24 points to go with 10 boards.

🪄 Wizards keeping pace with 76ers

The Wizards trailed by as many as 16 and hadn’t led since the opening moments of tonight’s game against the 76ers. Until now.

Washington has reclaimed the lead in Philly as it searches for a win. Jared Butler has a career-high 26 points with time still remaining and he has now scored in double figures in three straight contests.

🎆 More history in Cavs-Thunder

The third quarter in tonight’s game between the Cavaliers and Thunder featured an absurd 84 points. Both teams scored over 40 points, marking the first time that has happened in any game this season, per the broadcast.

This game has had 28 lead changes and eight ties. Neither team has led by double-digits. This is the good stuff. Catch the fourth quarter now on ESPN as Cleveland leads by one point with just under 10:00 to play.

🤹 Serious work from Clowney

Brooklyn’s Noah Clowney notched 15 first-half points tonight against Detroit, a personal-best for the second-year man out of Alabama. Clowney has gone 3-for-6 from deep and also pulled down four rebounds as the Nets look to end the Pistons’ win streak.

🔥 Blazers. Buckets.

The Trail Blazers have come out red-hot against the Pelicans, shooting 73 percent from the floor and 61.5 percent from deep through the game’s first 20 minutes.

Shaedon Sharpe has poured in 18 points on 7 of 9 shooting over 15 minutes of work, including 3-for-5 from 3-point land.

Sharpe shooter indeed.

🟢 Green light for Giannis vs Wemby

Fans will officially be treated to a Giannis vs Wemby showdown tonight in the slate’s nightcap. Antetokounmpo is officially available after landing on the injury report Tuesday with a right knee injury.

Catch Bucks vs Spurs on ESPN right after the conclusion of the Cavaliers-Thunder.

🍿 Cleveland-OKC living up to the hype

The Cavaliers trailed after one but woke up in the second to outscore the Thunder by 10 in the second and secure a three-point halftime lead.

The game itself has been everything fans and pundits hoped for coming into tonight. The stars are shining as SGA has 16 first-half points and Evan Mobley has answered with 12 points for the Cavs.

Part of what sets these teams apart from the rest of the league is the overall talent depth, and that is certainly on display tonight. Jarrett Allen actually leads all Cleveland scorers with 15 points to go with six boards and Max Strus has chipped in three 3’s off the bench. OKC’s Cason Wallace has added eight points, including going 2-for-2 from deep.

The game featured 12 lead changes in the opening 24 minutes. Fans can sit back and enjoy what promises to be a phenomenal second half coming up on ESPN.

🕵 The Butler. In the lane. With the slick finish

Washington’s Jared Butler is having himself a night so far with a game-high 16 points in just nine minutes of work off the bench. He’s trending towards surpassing his season-high 17-point figure that he set on Sunday against the Pelicans.

The Wizards trail the 76ers by 11 at the break.

➕ Do the Math. That’s 2

Tyrese Haliburton continued to show off his slick passing ability with the lob to Bennedict Mathurin for the spicy alley-oop tonight against the Bulls. The Pacers have raced out to a 19-point halftime lead over the Bulls.

Haliburton has dished out six assists in 17 minutes and also swiped three steals.

⚡Thunder lead by 7 after 1

The first quarter of Wednesday’s big-time clash between the Thunder and Cavaliers goes to OKC as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. took a 32-25 lead through 12 minutes.

SGA paced the scoring for OKC with eight points, but he had to work hard for those buckets as Cleveland held to 3-for-10 from the floor.

Max Strus has  provided some sharpshooting for the Cavs with three triples thus far.

🔊 Big game energy in Cleveland

Make sure your headphones are on a reasonable volume because Jarrett Allen’s back-to-back slams blew the roof off Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

🐈 KAT is back

The Knicks, who are on a surprising three-game losing streak, get a big boost going into Wednesday’s matchup against the Raptors with Karl-Anthony Towns returning from a one-game absence.

In Towns’ last game, he went for 44 points and 16 boards against the Bulls.

Big game. Big fits

The Cavaliers and Thunder are rolling up to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse bringing their A-Games to the red carpet before they hit the floor.

⚡Thunder, Cavs set to square off

Never before in the history of the NBA have we seen two teams on winning streaks of 10 (CLE) and 15 (OKC) collide. In a sense, the season feels like it’s been building to this matchup. Two teams who entered the season looking to reach the next level that have been blowing expectations out of the water.

For one, Cleveland itself started the season on a 15-game winning streak of its own, which has now been tied by Oklahoma City as the longest in the Association this season. Oklahoma City can claim the NBA’s top streak of 2025 if it’s able to pull off the road win in Cleveland.

These teams have been elite on both ends of the floor this season, and it’s no surprise that they rank so highly in key metrics. The most interesting matchup from that standpoint tonight will be Cleveland’s top-rated offense (121.3 ORTG) vs Oklahoma City’s top-rated defense (102.7 DRTG).

The star power in this game alone is unbelievable. MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Donovan Mitchell. Evan Mobley. Jalen Williams.

Tune in at 7:00 Eastern tonight for this epic clash.

📰 Required Reading

🗝️Key NBA Storylines Tonight

  • Cavaliers and Thunder meet in historic regular season showdown: As if the top seeds in either conference squaring off wasn’t enough, there’s history being made. Per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, this is the first ever interconference game played between teams with a .850 winning percentage this far into the season.
  • Wemby, Giannis square off in Milwaukee: Two of the league’s brightest stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama, will take the floor as the Bucks host the Spurs tonight. Antetokounmpo is coming off a triple-double Monday night against the Raptors while Wembanyama had a monstrous game with eight blocks in his last game.
  • Pistons going for five straight wins: Detroit has rounded into form of late with eight wins in its last 10 outings, including four straight victories. Tonight they will hit the road to take on the Nets at the Barclays Center.

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