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Happy Monday.
You got 12 games waiting for you tonight.
And if you need an extra boost to get there, head to Section 5.
THE LINEUP 🏀
- Durant, Scottie come up BIG 🏀
- Cavs snap trio of Warriors streaks 🔥
- Tonight: 12 games, East vs West vibe 💥
- Shaq’s debut & Wemby connection 🔗
- Start Monday with hype (video) 🎞️
- DURANT DROPS 41 AS SUNS HALT 3-GAME SKID ☀️
With both of their teams sitting at 2-4 entering Sunday, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant and Toronto’s Scottie Barnes were determined to get their squads a W.
Playing without Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant put the Suns on his shoulders to snap a three-game losing streak.
- KD scored 35 of his game-high 41 points (15-27 FG) in the first three quarters, becoming the eighth player to score 40+ points this season
- Durant scored 417 points in his first 15 games as a Sun, 42 more than Charles Barkley when he first arrived in Phoenix
- He doesn’t just score points, he prints posters too
- Pistons rookie Ausar Thompson stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four steals and four blocks, while Cade Cunningham dropped 26
🦖 Raptors 123, Spurs 116 (OT)
With Toronto trailing by 15 entering the fourth quarter, Barnes went to work. He scored 17 of his 30 points in the quarter as the Raptors forced overtime on a late OG Anunoby putback before winning in OT.
- Anunoby splashed a career-best seven 3-pointers as he scored 24 points, one of three Raptors with 24+ in the win
- Victor Wembanyama finished with a highlight-filled 20 points, nine rebounds, career-high five blocks and four assists for the Spurs
- Wemby’s Wild Stat: One of Wemby’s 5 blocks was on a corner 3-point attempt by OG. It was Wemby’s third blocked 3-point shot in six games, putting him on pace for 41 over 82 games.
- Here’s last season’s top five: Bol Bol (16), Chris Boucher, Bruce Brown and Matisse Thybulle (14 each) and Herbert Jones (13)
- CAVS SNAP A TRIO OF WARRIORS’ STREAKS ✂️
⚔️ Cavaliers 115, Warriors 104
Cleveland’s backcourt of Donovan Mitchell (31) and Darius Garland (24) outscored the Splash Bros. by 12 points (55-43) in an 11-point win
- Mitchell scored 30+ for the third straight game as he took over the NBA scoring lead (32.5 ppg) from Luka Doncic
Cleveland’s win snapped the following Warriors’ streaks:
- Five-game win streak overall
- The Splash Bros. two-game streak of game-winners with 0.2 seconds left
- 12-game win streak over Cleveland
The Cavs had not beaten the Warriors since Christmas Day 2016, with their 12 straight losses tied for the third-longest active streak against a single opponent entering Sunday:
- 14: Magic vs. Bucks (streak began on 11/01/2019)
- 14: Kings vs. Bucks (11/05/2016)
- 12: Pistons vs. Knicks (02/08/2020)
- 12: Cavaliers vs. Warriors (01/16/2017)
After taking their first L of the season to the defending champs, the Mavs got back on track with a win over Charlotte – behind a pair of double-doubles from their All-Star backcourt.
- Luka Doncic fell one assist shy of a triple-double as he had 23 points, 12 boards and 9 dimes
- Kyrie Irving added 18 points and 10 dimes, including the one to Dwight Powell for the spinning layup
- LaMelo Ball (30 pts, 10 reb, 13 ast) became the first Hornet with 10+ triple-doubles and joined Anthony Mason (2011) as the only Hornets with a 30-point triple-double
- Jaden Hardy had 14 points in 15 minutes off the bench, none better than these two on the poster dunk
The Grizzlies were staring at an 0-7 start as they trailed by 12 with 8:13 to play following a Jerami Grant triple. Memphis responded with a 26-2 run to close the game for their first win.
- A pair of Malcolm Brogdon free throws were the only points the Grizz allowed in the final eight minutes. The Grizz defense held Portland to 0-8 FG on 2s (with two blocks), 0-6 FG on 3s, and forced four turnovers
- Desmond Bane (nine of his 30 points), Jaren Jackson Jr. (seven) and Marcus Smart (five) combined for 21 of Memphis’ final 26 points, while Luke Kennard delivered the dagger 3 with 1:28 to play
- EAST VS. WEST & FINALS REMATCH HIGHLIGHT 12-GAME NIGHT
Tonight’s 12-game slate has a dose of history. A dose of inter-conference tests between teams off to hot starts. A big dose of star duels.
And just a lot of great hoops.
📺 Lakers-Heat, 7:30 ET, NBA TV
Six players from the 2020 Finals remain on the Lakers and Heat
- Miami: Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson
- Los Angeles: Anthony Davis, LeBron James
- Herro’s just one of five players so far with 150+ points, 30+ rebounds and 30+ assists. The other four: Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Steph Curry & Scottie Barnes
- Meanwhile, Anthony Davis ranks 10th in scoring, third in boards and first in blocks.
Lakers-Heat is one of seven inter-conference games on Monday. Before we get going, a couple stats on the two Conferences:
- Though the NBA champ came out of the West for the 17th time in 25 years in 2022-23, the East is coming off its best inter-conference record (236-214) in the past 24 years
- For the first time in 42 years, the league’s three best records belonged to teams in the East
📲 Mavs-Magic, 7 ET, NBA App
The 5-1 Mavs, owners of the league’s 2nd best offense, are out to their best start since 2004-05. The Magic, featuring the league’s second-best defense, have jumped out to a 4-2 start.
Doncic has looked every bit the MVP candidate so far, while Paolo Banchero shook off a slow start to lead the Magic past the Lakers.
📲 Spurs-Pacers, 7 ET, NBA App
You might have heard that Victor Wembanyama is having a pretty good year so far.
But so is Tyrese Haliburton, with the fourth-year Pacers PG leading the NBA in assists and top 20 in scoring.
📲 Clippers-Knicks, 7:30 ET, NBA App
James Harden is expected to make his Clippers debut at The World’s Most Famous Arena, setting up a showdown with the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson – who’s coming off a 45-point night.
📲 Bucks-Nets, 7:30 ET, NBA App
Two high-octane duos, in Giannis/Dame for Milwaukee and Cam Thomas/Mikal Bridges for Brooklyn. Two of the league’s top 3-point shooting squads. Could mean buckets in Brooklyn.
📲 Celtics-Wolves, 8 ET, NBA App
The undefeated Celtics came into this year with a whole new roster, while the 3-2 Wolves came into the year with a whole new approach
The Celtics have dominated so far, while Minnesota has the league’s top defense.
📲 Hawks-Thunder, 8 ET, NBA App
Trae Young squares up with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a battle of two of the game’s most electric young guards
How good has Chet Holmgren been in his first six NBA games? He ranks fourth in blocks (2.3 bpg) and sixth in 3-point percentage (56.5% on 23 attempts)
📲 Pelicans-Nuggets, 9 ET, NBA App
The Pelicans have a healthy Zion, with Brandon Ingram back in the lineup, too. But the Pelicans will be playing with key players sidelined, including CJ McCollum after a collapsed lung diagnosis on Sunday
Can the No. 4 team in the West give the defending champs (4-0 at home) their first loss in Denver this year?
What else?
📲 Warriors-Pistons, 7 ET, NBA App
📲 Wizards-Sixers, 7 ET, NBA App
📲 Jazz-Bulls, 8 ET, NBA App
📲 Kings-Rockets, 8 ET, NBA App
- THIS DAY IN HISTORY: SHAQ DEBUTS 💥
One of the most-anticipated rookies in NBA history just made his debut.
Through his first five games, he’s first among rooks in scoring.
Tops in blocks.
With a 35+ point game already.
The year? 1992.
Thirty-one years ago today, a big, mobile center out of LSU named Shaquille O’Neal – known otherwise as Shaq, Diesel, The Big Aristotle and about 200 other nicknames – made his debut.
And took the league by storm.
Until Victor Wembanyama reached the milestone this week, Shaq was the last No. 1 pick with 100+ points, 40+ rebounds & 15+ blocks through his first six career games.
Take a look back at the iconic big man’s debut here, as he put up 12 points and 18 rebounds in his first-ever NBA game.
Want a deeper look into his transformative rookie season, when he transformed a franchise and – in many ways – a whole league? Watch the new ‘Shaq: The Rookie Season’ documentary on NBA League Pass.
- YOU GOT THIS: START THE WEEK WITH SOME HYPE 🎞️
Warmups are done.
The visiting team’s starters have been announced.
The lights go out. You can feel the anticipation rise, from the kicks on the court to the last row in the arena.
The crowd swells as the home team starting 5 is about to be introduced. But before that, all eyes go to the big screen for the ultimate highlight reel of this year’s squad.
🥁 It’s time for the hype video. 🥁
Get your Monday going with a few of the hypiest from teams around the league so far.
(We won’t say anything if you close your eyes and pretend these are for your work week.)
- Bulls: Seeing Red
- Blazers: Rip City
- Celtics: Boston, Are You Ready?
- Heat: Miami Vibes
- Lakers: Lake Show Energy
- Suns: Coming in Hot
- Warriors: Make ‘Em Look
