Starting 5 Daily Newsletter

NBA Starting 5, Nov. 2: LeBron & Lakers snap streak, Klay wins it late

Lakers end Clippers' run at 11, Boston makes history and Wemby & KD run it back.

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The Celtics did something they’ve only done once before. 

With Steph swarmed, Klay came through. And for the first time in 12 games, the Lakers take the Battle of LA.


THE TIP ⏰


THE LINEUP 🏀

  1. California Love for Lakers, Dubs ☀️
  2. Celtics put up 1️⃣5️⃣5️⃣ points
  3. Comeback wins highlight Wed 💨
  4. Wemby, KD run it back 🏃🔙
  5. 33 years ago, a landmark day🗼

  1. CALIFORNIA LOVE: LAKERS SNAP STREAK, KLAY SINKS KINGS ☀️
Only players in NBA history with 24K pts, 9K ast & 8K reb? Russ & Bron. | NBAE via Getty Images

Only players in NBA history with 24K pts, 9K ast & 8K reb? Russ & Bron. | NBAE via Getty Images

All 4 California teams made the playoffs for the 1st time ever last season. All 4 were in action on Wednesday with the NorCal rivals and SoCal rivals facing off.

🌇 Lakers 130, Clippers 125 (OT): It took an extra 5 minutes, but the Lakers finally snapped their 11-game losing streak to the Clippers. In an early candidate for Game of the Year, the stars showed out in L.A.

  • LeBron James: 35 points (most ever for a player in Season 21+), 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 3s, 2 blocks in 42 minutes
  • Anthony Davis: 27 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks in 48 minutes
  • Kawhi Leonard: 38 points (career-high 18 in the 1st Q), 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 3s, 2 steals
  • Paul George: 35 points (20 in the 4th), 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 6 3s
  • Russell Westbrook: 24 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, 3 3s

Kawhi and PG combined for 73 points in the loss. It was only the 2nd time they both scored 35+ in the same game since becoming teammates in 2019.

Ever since the Clippers moved to L.A. in 1984, this rivalry has seen 3 players score 30+ just 1 other time: 

  • 11/1/2023: Leonard, LAC (38), George, LAC (35), James, LAL (35)
  • 4/12/2007: Kobe Bryant, LAL (50), Corey Maggette, LAC (39), Elton Brand, LAC (32)

Fantastic Finish: After Kawhi opened OT with a bucket, the Lakers went on a 7-0 run capped by a majestic LeBron alley-oop (watch every angle and wait for Bronny’s reaction in the crowd).

The Clippers wouldn’t go away as Kawhi closed the lead to 1 with a minute to play. After a pair of Austin Reaves FTs pushed the Lakers’ lead to 3, Christian Wood called game with a putback dunk with 9 seconds left

Klay hits the game-winner with 0.2 seconds left | NBAE via Getty Images

Klay hits the game-winner with 0.2 seconds left | NBAE via Getty Images

🌉 Warriors 102, Kings 101: The Kings weren’t going to let Steph Curry beat them. So Klay Thompson did it instead. Klay hit a pull-up jumper with 0.2 seconds left to give the Warriors a 102-101 home win against their NorCal rivals.

  • Fantastic Finish: The game featured 9 ties and 11 lead changes, including 3 on the final 3 shots of the game: a Curry floater with 32 seconds left (100-99 GSW), a Domantas Sabonis bank shot with 14.5 seconds left (101-100 SAC) before Klay’s game-winner (102-101 GSW)
  • Leaders: Curry led the Warriors with 21 points and 4 3-pointers, while Sabonis (23 pts, 11 reb, 8 ast) posted his 4th double-double in as many games for the Kings
  • No Beam For You: Since the Kings went up 2-0 in last year’s First Round series, the Warriors have won 8 of the last 9 games between the playoffs (4-1), preseason (2-0) and regular season (2-0)

  1. CELTICS SCORE 2ND-MOST POINTS IN TEAM HISTORY 🍀
Jayson Tatum’s 30 led 8 players in double-figures as the Celtics went OFF. | NBAE via Getty Images

Jayson Tatum’s 30 led 8 players in double-figures as the Celtics went OFF. | NBAE via Getty Images

For a franchise as rich in history as the Celtics – the most regular-season wins (3,574), tied for the most championships (17) – when you add your name to that record book, it means something.

With a 155-104 win over the Pacers on Wednesday, the 2023-24 Celtics just added their name to these 2 lists:

Most points in franchise history

  • 173 points: 2/27/1959 vs. MIN
  • 155 points: Wednesday vs. IND

Biggest wins in franchise history: 

  • 56 points: 12/8/2018 (BOS 133, CHI 77)
  • 53 points: 1/25/2022 (BOS 128, SAC 75)
  • 51 points: 3/7/1962 (BOS 153, PHI 102)
  • 51 points: Wednesday (BOS 155, IND 104)

Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 30 points in 26 minutes to lead 8 Celtics who scored in double-figures.

  • History Quiz: The Celtics became the 6th team in NBA history to have at least 10 games with 150+ points. How many of the other 5 can you name?
  • Hint: 3 of them were in action last night. Spin through Wednesday’s 10 other games and you’ll find your answers 🔽

  1. COMEBACK WINS HIGHLIGHT WEDNESDAY 💨
Whose windmill you taking? Dejounte or Cade? | NBAE via Getty Images

Whose windmill you taking? Dejounte or Cade? | NBAE via Getty Images

Wednesday’s 13-game slate also saw comeback wins from New Orleans and Brooklyn, the 1st win of the season for Houston and the 1st loss for the defending champs.

Spida sense. | NBAE via Getty Images

Spida sense. | NBAE via Getty Images

History Quiz Answer: Lakers (16), Warriors (14), Nuggets (13), Sixers (12), Spurs (10)


  1. TONIGHT: RUN. IT. BACK. ☀️🤠 
The Spurs & Suns just gave us a classic. Let’s do it again. | NBAE via Getty Images

The Spurs & Suns just gave us a classic. Let’s do it again. | NBAE via Getty Images

Spurs at Suns, 10 ET, NBA TV

Over the past few years, the NBA schedule has featured more & more series where teams play 2 games in a row in the same city.

The goal? Reducing travel for back-to-backs.

Another benefit on display tonight? When 2 teams have a great game, we don’t have to wait weeks or months for a rematch.

Now we get it within 48 hours.

  • Spurs Comeback: On Tuesday, the Spurs pulled off an improbable comeback over the Suns – rallying from 20 points down in the 2nd half
  • The Spurs literally stole the win in the final seconds as Keldon Johnson ripped the ball away from Kevin Durant to set up the game-winning layup with 1.2 seconds left
  • KD vs. Wemby, Part 2: Whenever you lose a game like that in pickup, the immediate response is “Let’s run it back!” That’s exactly what we get tonight as KD’s Suns and Wemby’s Spurs give us another look at this matchup of 2 of the most uniquely gifted players in recent NBA memory
  • Wemby’s Clutch Gene: San Antonio’s 2 wins have both seen the No. 1 pick heat up down the stretch. Wembanyama has scored 32 points on 31.3% shooting in the 1st 3 quarters, compared to 33 points on 72.2% shooting in the 4th quarter or OT
Nick Nurse faces a familiar foe tonight. | NBAE via Getty Images

Nick Nurse faces a familiar foe tonight. | NBAE via Getty Images

Raptors at Sixers, 7 ET, NBA TV

  • Sixers head coach Nick Nurse faces his former team for the 1st time. Nurse spent 5 years as an assistant and 5 as head coach in Toronto, leading the Raptors to their first title in 2019
  • The Sixers enter Thursday as the only team with 2 30+ ppg scorers in reigning 2-time scoring champ Joel Embiid (31.0) and rising star Tyrese Maxey (30.3)
  • The Raptors will be on the 2nd night of a back-to-back, but come into Philly following a win as they snapped a 3-game losing streak with a 130-11 victory over Milwaukee

Thursday Games in the NBA App:


  1. 33 YEARS AGO, A LANDMARK DAY IN TOKYO 🗼
The first regular season game outside of North America. | NBAE via Getty Images

The first regular season game outside of North America. | NBAE via Getty Images

33 years ago, history was made.

And a new tradition was born.

On Nov. 2, 1990, when the Phoenix Suns beat the Utah Jazz, 119-96, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, it marked the first regular season game played outside North America by any major professional sports league. 

The teams met the next night in Tokyo, with the Jazz winning 102-101.

Since then, the NBA’s staged 33 more regular-season games outside the US & Canada – with a new one coming a week from now, when the Hawks & Magic play in Mexico City.

We dug for a few of our favorite photos from the first game in Japan – find ‘em below, along with a few other big events from NBA history on Nov. 2. 

What Else On Nov. 2?

  • That Same Night In ‘90: The Warriors beat the Nuggets, 162-158, setting an NBA record for most points scored by 2 teams in a non-OT game. 
  • 1946: Red Auerbach made his pro coaching debut for the Washington Capitols in a 50-33 road win over the Detroit Falcons. Auerbach coached the Capitols to a league-best 49-11 record in the NBA (then BAA)’s 1st season, but fell to the Chicago Stags in the playoffs.
  • 2005: Andrew Bynum becomes (and remains) the youngest player ever to play in a regular season NBA game, at 18 years, six days – breaking Jermaine O’Neal’s 10-year-old record by 46 days.
  • More of This Week In NBA History here

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