Starting 5, Nov. 22: Franz's magic touch snaps Lakers' win streak & a ...
A Hollywood ending for Franz and the Magic.
THE LINEUP ????
Nov. 22, 2024 | What’s inside today’s edition?
Abracadabra: How Wagner & Orlando pulled out a W to end L.A.’s streak
Miller & LaMelo Masterclass: Early birthday buckets and a Thursday roundup
Golden Chase: The Dubs open Friday’s doubleheader looking to stay perfect in NBA Cup action
Rivalry Reignited: Pacers vs. Bucks tonight in an Emirates NBA Cup & Playoff rematch
“Something We’ll Always Remember”: Boston celebrates its 2024 title at the White House
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Buckle up because it’s Cup Night…
A Pivotal Friday Cup Night: With Group Play heating up, the fourth night of the Emirates NBA Cup delivers eight matchups, headlined by a marquee doubleheader in West Group C on ESPN.
To tip things off on the national stage, Steph Curry and the Warriors will look to improve to 3-0 in Group Play as they face the Pelicans (7:30 ET). Then, Jamal Murray and the Nuggets will host Kyrie Irving and the Mavs (10 ET).
Looking for an Emirates NBA Cup standings check? We got you covered.
1. WAGNER WORKS MAGIC TO SNAP LAKERS’ WIN STREAK
One night after seeing their six-game win streak snapped in a loss to the Clippers at the Intuit Dome, it was the Magic’s turn to play spoiler in Los Angeles.
Magic 119, Lakers 118: In a thriller that featured 13 ties and 21 lead changes, Anthony Davis (39 pts, 9 reb) and LeBron James (31 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast) put on a show at Crypto.com Arena and scored the Lakers’ final 23 points to give them a 118-114 lead with 27 seconds left.
But the Magic refused to go away, and after cutting their deficit to two, Franz Wagner took the rock and took the lead, splashing a go-ahead stepback 3 with 2.5 ticks left to hand the Lakers their first home loss of the season while ending their six-game win streak. | Recap | Catch the WILD Final 2:11
2. MILLER & LAMELO MASTERCLASS, BARRETT & BARNES TURN UP
“Happy birthday to me.”
Brandon Miller may have asked for buckets for his birthday. Because that’s what he got.
A night before his 22nd birthday, Miller caught fire for a career-high 38 points on eight 3s and invited LaMelo Ball (35 pts) to the party as the two combined for 73 to help the Hornets hold off Cade Cunningham and the Pistons for a 123-121 overtime win. | Recap | Watch the OT Finish
Buzzing Backcourt: Miller and Ball are the first Hornets duo in franchise history to each record 35+ points in the same game Tandem Takeover: They also combined for 13 assists (Ball: 9, Miller: 4) which led to 35 more points, making them responsible for 108 of Charlotte’s 123 points (87.8%) The Icing On The Cake: After the Hornets squandered a 20-point lead in regulation, Miller scored eight of their 14 points in OT in the final 1:43, stamped by a dagger 3 with 32 seconds left “Great team win,” said head coach Charles Lee. “Every possession mattered, every hustle play, every competitive effort was really good by the team. So proud of them sticking with it.” Cade Exit: Cunningham led Detroit with 27 points, seven boards and 10 dimes but left the game with 48 seconds remaining in regulation due to a hip injury
Raptors 110, Timberwolves 105: After snapping a seven-game skid with a victory over Indiana on Monday, the Raptors earned their second straight win as RJ Barrett (31 pts, 7 reb) sparked a 22-8 run to close the game and power past Anthony Edwards (26 pts) and the Wolves. | Recap
RJ ???? The Claw: In his 45th game with the franchise, Barrett became the second fastest player to reach 1,000 points in Raptors history, trailing only Kawhi Leonard (37 games) Roaring Raptors: It was Barrett’s second straight 30-piece and his fifth of the season, while Chris Boucher chipped in 22 points and Jakob Poeltl notched a double-double (15 pts, 12 reb) Ant & Others: Edwards, the NBA’s 3-point leader with 72 on the season, hit five triples, while Julius Randle (23 pts) and Jaden McDaniels (22 pts) combined for 45 points
Spurs 126, Jazz 118: With Victor Wembanyama out, Harrison Barnes turned in a season-high 25 points and 10 boards, and got help from Chris Paul (13 pts, 10 ast) as San Antonio outscored Utah 75-51 in the 2nd half to overcome a 20-point deficit for a comeback dub. | Recap
CP3 & Company: Paul scored all 13 of his points in the 2nd half, and Zach Collins and Stephon Castle finished with 18 points apiece The win moves San Antonio to 8-8, marking the first time the team’s been .500 or better through the first 16 games of a season since 2020-21 Lauri Markkanen scored a game-high 27 points for Utah, which has now dropped four straight games3. DUBS SURGE INTO FRIDAY’S EMIRATES NBA CUP DOUBLEHEADER ON ESPN
Entering this week, 1,049 days had passed since the Warriors last held sole possession of first place in the West.
But with an 11-3 start, Golden State is back atop the standings for the first time since the 2021-22 season, when they went on to win the NBA Finals.
Tonight, they have a chance to take a step toward more hardware, as they’ll look to improve to 3-0 in NBA Cup Group Play when they face the Pelicans to tip off ESPN’s doubleheader (7:30 ET).
Round 3: Despite being without Steph Curry for both matchups, Golden State is 2-0 against New Orleans this season, with Buddy Hield (24.5) leading seven Warriors averaging 8.5+ points per game “We feel like we have a very versatile roster,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said on his team’s depth. “And that we can play a lot of different ways.” And They Have: The Warriors have used eight different starting lineups this season — the second-most in the NBA — and are tied for the most 120+ point games with nine Road Warriors In NOLA: Golden State has the third-best road record in the NBA at 6-2, but the Pelicans have won five of the last eight meetings against them in New OrleansChampionship Measuring Stick: The Warriors’ 11 wins are their most through 14 games since 2021-22, when they opened the season at 12-2 and went on to win the title.
How do the two squads compare statistically? Well, in ten major categories, the splits are strikingly similar:
In the second leg of ESPN’s doubleheader, Kyrie Irving and the Mavs will take on Jamal Murray and the Nuggets (10 ET). Marked questionable last time out, could Nikola Jokic make his return to the lineup?
Last time these two teams met, Kyrie dropped a season-high 43 points against the Nuggets on Nov. 10 — but a Jokic triple-double and Michael Porter Jr.’s late bucket gave a red-hot Denver squad its 5th straight win Joker’s Wild: In that game, Nikola Jokic became the 3rd player to ever average 29+ PPG, 15+ RPG, 14+ APG over a 4 game stretch, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson Dubs’ Potential Clinching Scenario: With a victory over New Orleans and a Mavericks win over Denver, Golden State would clinch the top spot in West Group C as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Dallas Luka Dončić is out for Dallas (knee)4. EMIRATES NBA CUP NIGHT: BUCKS & PACERS REIGNITE RIVALRY
With the Pacers up one and 2:40 remaining in last year’s Emirates NBA Cup Semifinal against the Bucks, Tyrese Haliburton sparked a 15-7 Indiana run to close the game, capped by a dagger 3 with 48 seconds left.
The rally secured his team’s spot in the Championship. And it put the league on notice:
“It’s our time,” said Haliburton after the win. “We’re shocking the world right now.”The win not only helped spark Indiana’s first run to the East Finals in a decade — it also set the stage for a season-long back & forth with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, igniting a budding rivalry between Eastern powers.
Giannis Answers: In a rematch six days after the Pacers’ Semifinal victory, Antetokounmpo responded in historic fashion, dropping a franchise-record 64 points to lead the Bucks to a 140-126 win Indiana Retaliates: On Jan. 1, Giannis logged a triple-double against the Pacers, but Indiana secured the win. Two days later, Haliburton dropped 31 to clinch the regular-season series 4-1 Playoff Clash: In the first round of the 2024 Playoffs, the two sides squared off again, and Indiana ended Milwaukee’s season in six games with Antetokounmpo sidelined due to a calf strain
Now, with both teams at full strength, the rivalry renews tonight in the Emirates NBA Cup — where it all began one year ago (8 ET, League Pass).
This time, could it be the Bucks that use the victory as a springboard?
Bouncing Back: After a 2-8 start, Milwaukee has won four of its last five games to improve to 6-9 on the year Setting The Pace: Last season, Giannis averaged 42.2 ppg against Indiana, while Damian Lillard posted 31.3 ppg in the two sides’ Playoff series Indiana Outbursts: In addition to his career-high 64 points, Giannis also dropped 54 against Indiana last November And He’s Heating Up: Giannis’ last four games include outings of 59 and 41 points. In that stretch, he’s averaging 35.5 points, 12.8 rebounds and 7.8 assists on 59.8% shooting Giannis: “We’re trending towards the right direction … At the end of the day we have a lot of season left. It’s easy to put our heads down but we’re not going to do that.”Five more Emirates NBA Cup Group Play games get underway on League Pass, beginning with the defending champion Celtics taking on the Wizards in D.C.
5. A DAY TO REMEMBER: CELTICS CELEBRATE TITLE AT WHITE HOUSE
Ahead of the C’s matchup against the Wizards tonight in the nation’s capital, the 2024 NBA champs visited the White House on Thursday to celebrate their 18th title.
After meeting President Joe Biden, the team ceremoniously gathered below the Truman Balcony, where the country’s commander-in-chief recounted the team’s historic season.
“I know it wasn’t easy,” Biden said. “You came close more than once, but you put in the work and clocked one of the greatest seasons ever … Now, an 18th championship banner hangs in the rafters.”Following the president’s speech, Tatum and White presented Biden with gifts from the team, a No. 46 ‘Biden’ Celtics jersey and a personalized championship Celtics basketball, which the president dished to Horford with a playful underhand pass.
Celtics Governor Wyc Grousbeck and Biden then posed with the Larry O’Brien trophy to cap the team’s presidential celebration, which Tatum says will never be forgotten.
“[For] a lot of us it was our first time here. Getting to meet President Biden and having the ceremony is something that you always watch as a kid, and now to be a part of that tradition is something we’ll always remember.“
