Top Performers on Nov. 26: Kristaps Porziņģis and Ja Morant impress in their returns, plus a new No. 1 in the Western Conference

12’s back with his first high-flying dunk of the season.

THE LINEUP

Nov. 26, 2024 | What’s inside today’s edition?

Star Returns, More Magic: KP & Ja return with wins, Orlando 

keeps winning while missing a star

West Shakeup: OKC’s win and Golden State’s loss means a new 

No. 1 out West

Showing Out: A Jaden Ivey game-winner and big games from OG, 

Kyrie, Haliburton & Payton

TNT Doubleheader: The Lakers and Bucks try to stay perfect in 

NBA Cup Group Play

League Pass: Houston visits Minnesota looking to keep its 

best start in five years going

BUT FIRST … ⏰

The race for the Cup heats up tonight…

The season’s fifth Emirates NBA Cup Night 

features a five-game slate, headlined by a TNT doubleheader

beginning in Miami where the Heat (1-1) host Emirates NBA Cup MVP 

Ladder

 

leader Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks (2-0) in East Group 

B (7:30 ET, TNT

).

In the nightcap, the defending Cup champion Lakers (2-0) visit 

the Suns (1-1), who are expecting Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal 

to return as they try to end a five-game slide and keep pace in 

West Group B (10 ET, TNT

).

1. KP & JA MAKE TRIUMPHANT RETURNS, WHILE MAGIC STAY HOT

Celtics 126, Clippers 94: Kristaps 

Porziņģis made his season debut (16 pts, 6 reb, 2 blk) and the 

Celtics used a big 2nd quarter – setting franchise records with 

12 3s (tying the NBA record for 3s in a quarter) and 51 points – 

to blow the game open and cruise to their sixth straight win. | 

Recap

20+ 3s, Again: Boston buried 20+ 3s for the seventh time this

season and the fifth time in its last six games. Payton Pritchard (6) and Derrick White (5) accounted for half of the team’s triples on Monday as Boston improved to 7-0 when splashing 20+ 3sWelcome Back: Porziņģis got the start in his return and the Celtics looked for the big man early as he took Boston’s first three shots – including his first bucket of the season – from beyond the arc

“I was itching to get back out there

with this team after winning a championship,” Porziņģis said, reflecting on missing Boston’s first 17 games due to offseason ankle surgery

Grizzlies 123, Blazers 98: Ja Morant returned following an 

eight-game absence and picked up like he never left – dropping 22 

points, 11 dimes and spectacular highlights to lead the Grizzlies 

to a wire-to-wire win over the Blazers for Memphis’ third win in 

the last four games. | Recap

The Dunk & Reaction: Morant had the entire arena on its feet

as he exploded off the paint and threw down his first dunk of the season, drawing this EPIC reaction from the Grizzlies broadcast team

“I felt pretty good,” Ja said in his return, “felt pretty good

shooting the ball, attacking, big time win.”

Team Effort: Jaren Jackson Jr. added 21 points and three

blocks, while Santi Aldama had a double-double (13 pts, 17 reb) off the bench as Memphis finished with six double-digit scorers

Magic 95, Hornets 84: The Magic have relied on Franz Wagner 

and a lockdown defense to keep winning despite the absence of 

All-Star Paolo Banchero (oblique injury), who averages 29.0 ppg, 

8.8 rpg and 5.6 apg.

On Monday, Wagner led the Magic offense with 21 points and 

seven assists, while the Magic defense held the Hornets to a 

season-low 84 points despite a 44-point effort 

from LaMelo Ball for Orlando’s ninth win in its last 10 games. 

| Recap

Bench Rules: Franz was the only Magic starter in double

figures, but Orlando got 53 points from its bench – led by Mo Wagner and Cole Anthony with matching 16-point, 8-rebound efforts

No Points For You: During this 9-1 stretch, the Magic have held

their opponents to 95.2 ppg – 8.5 fewer than any other team

Ball Rolling: LaMelo’s 44-point performance came after a

50-point game against Milwaukee on Sunday, making him the first player in Hornets history to record three straight games with 35+ points

2. A NEW NO. 1 IN THE WEST

Thunder 130, Kings 109: Behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s first 

30+ point, 10+ assist game of the season (37 pts, 11 ast), a 

dominant 2nd half (67-47) and their best shooting night of the 

season (55.8% FG, 45.2% 3P), the Thunder raced past the Kings in 

Sacramento. | Recap 

Two-Man Game: Jalen Williams (28 pts, including a slam off a

falling behind-the-back dime from Isaiah Hartenstein) and SGA combined for 65 points in the win to top the 51 combined from DeMar DeRozan (30 pts) and Domantas Sabonis (21 pts, 10 reb)

Monday’s Best: For the second straight week, the Thunder are

first in the West following Monday’s games as OKC’s win combined with Golden State’s loss elevates the Thunder back to the top spot

Nets 128, Warriors 120: Midway through the 3rd quarter, this 

game had a familiar feel – a close game in the 1st half being 

blown open with a dominant 3rd quarter by the Warriors.

But after Golden State built an 18-point lead with 7:13 left in 

the 3rd, the Nets responded with an 11-0 run and continued to 

chip away at the lead until an 8-0 burst by Dennis Schröder to 

open the 4th gave the Nets the lead for good. | Recap

Schröder scored 17 of his game-high 31 points

in the 4th as the Nets put up 41 points to cap off a 70-53 2nd half performance for their second road win in as many days. Cam Thomas added 23 points for Brooklyn

Steph Curry hit a season-high eight 3s and finished with 28

points to lead the Warriors, who dropped their second straight game and surrendered their hold on the top of the Western Conference

3. IVEY, ANUNOBY, HALIBURTON & IRVING SHOW OUT

Pistons 102, Raptors 100: With the game tied in the 

closing seconds, the Pistons got the ball to Jaden Ivey and let 

him go to work…with his family in attendance

.

The third-year guard delivered by hitting the first game-winner 

of his NBA career, sinking the Tissot Buzzer Beater as the

Pistons snapped a three-game losing streak. | Recap 

| Watch The Final 4:22 

Stepping Up: With leading scorer Cade Cunningham out with a

back injury, Ivey (25 pts, 8 ast) led five Pistons in double figures in the win – including Mailk Beasley’s 14 points and Jalen Duren’s double-double (13 pts, 12 reb)

Knicks 145, Nuggets 118: Behind OG Anunoby’s career-best 40 

points

 

and monster double-doubles from Karl-Anthony Towns (30 pts, 15 

ast) and Jalen Brunson (23 pts, career-high 17 ast), the Knicks 

put up a season-high 145 points to beat Denver on Monday. | Recap  

Best NY Offense In Decades: The Knicks shot 60.9% from the

field (their highest mark since Mar. 6, 2005) and tied a franchise record with 45 assists (originally set Nov. 24, 1979) in the winStreak Snapped: Nikola Jokić finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, snapping a run of four straight 30+ point games

Pacers 114, Pelicans 110: Tyrese Haliburton (34 pts, 13 reb, 9 

3s

)

was unstoppable as he mixed 3-point splashes and no-look 

passes to lead the Pacers past the Pelicans for Indy’s second win 

in as many days. | Recap 

Tyrese 3, Caitlin Celly: When Haliburton sank his seventh 3

of the night, WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark let everyone know it was a triple from her courtside seatPayton’s 21 Dimes: Elfrid Payton – who made his season debut this past week after a three-year absence – dished out a career-best 21 assists that sets the mark for all to chase this season in the NBA

Mavericks 129, Hawks 119: Kyrie Irving started the game cold 

(16 pts on 5-of-20 shooting through three quarters), but finished 

hot (16 pts on 6-of-8 shooting

) 

and four 3s in the 4th) to lead Dallas on a 23-9 run to seize 

control of the game and earn a win in Atlanta. | Recap 

Four Score 20+: Along with Kyrie’s game-high 32 points, the 

Mavs got 20+ point efforts from Jaden Hardy (23), Naji Marshall 

(22) and Spencer Dinwiddie

Honoring A Legend: The Hawks honored Dikembe Mutombo with his

No. 55 and a silhouette of the Hall of Famer’s famous finger wag on their City Edition court. “He’s our legend over there [in Congo],” said Hawks center Clint Capela

4. TNT DOUBLEHEADER: BUCKS, LAKERS TRY TO STAY PERFECT IN GROUP PLAY

Bucks (2-0, +26 point diff) at Heat (1-1, +13) | East Group B | 7:30 ET, TNT)

It was just 16 days ago that Milwaukee dropped to 2-8 to open 

the season and sat in 14th place in the Eastern Conference.

Since then, the Bucks have won six of their last seven games, 

climbed to sixth in the East and enter tonight looking to improve 

to 3-0 in Emirates NBA Cup Group Play after going a perfect 4-0 

in Group Play last season.

However, they’ll do so against a Miami team they faced more than 

any other team in the NBA over the past five seasons as tonight 

marks the 32nd meeting in that time between the regular season 

and Playoffs.

The record in those games: Heat 16, Bucks 15

When it comes to determining which team will take Game No. 32, 

watch the forward matchup between Milwaukee’s Giannis 

Antetokounmpo and Miami’s Jimmy Butler – as the two All-Stars 

enter tonight on hot streaks.

Giannis leads the NBA in scoring (career-best 32.4 ppg) and

has scored 30+ points in three straight games, giving him 10 30+ games for the season, second-most behind Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball (11)

Butler has posted back-to-back 30+ point games since returning

from an ankle injury on Nov. 18. Prior to his return, Butler averaged 16.1 points on the season

Lakers (2-0, +11) at Suns (1-1, -8) | West Group B | 10 ET, TNT 

The Lakers enter tonight’s Group Play game with a perfect 9-0 

record in NBA Cup games as they’ve followed last year’s 7-0 run 

to the championship with a 2-0 start to their defense.

In order to keep that streak going, they’ll have to get by a 

Suns team that will be back at full strength with Kevin Durant 

and Bradley Beal set to return

 

from calf strains that kept both All-Stars out for multiple 

weeks.

After opening the season 9-2, the Suns have dropped five 

straight games, a streak that coincides with the absence of two 

of its top three offensive threats

The return of Durant (27.6 ppg) and Beal (17.8 ppg) injects

over 45 points per game back into an offense that has averaged the fourth-fewest points in the NBA over the past five games (105.0)

KD and Beal return in a Cup game with elevated stakes. With

Phoenix 1-1 in Group Play, a win over the group-leading Lakers would keep the Suns in contention to win the group

5. LEAGUE PASS: ROCKETS ON A ROLL

Rockets (2-0, +49 point diff) at wolves (1-1, -14) | West Group A | 8 ET, LP 

Last March, Houston went on an 11-game win streak to climb from 

eight games under .500 (27-35) to three games over (38-35), 

putting the Rockets in contention for the final spot in the SoFi 

Play-In Tournament.

While that bid ultimately fell short, the Rockets finished the 

season at 41-41 – making a 19-win improvement in the first season 

with Ime Udoka as head coach and veterans Fred VanVleet and 

Dillon Brooks joining the rising young talent on the Rockets’ 

roster.

If anyone thought that late-season push was a fluke – Houston’s 

start to this season has been proof that it was just the 

beginning.

The Rockets enter tonight’s game in Minnesota with the

third-best record in the West (12-6) and an unblemished mark in Group Play (2-0) with the highest point differential of any team in the NBA

The keys to Houston’s start? Balanced offense and elite defense.

Seven 10+ PPG Scorers: Jalen Green (18.7 ppg) leads seven

Rockets averaging 10+ points per game – the most players of any team this season. The Rockets are one of three teams (along with Portland and Utah) without a 20+ ppg scorer

Top-Two Defense: The Rockets’ 103.7 defensive rating ranks

second only to OKC on the season. And it’s been even stingier in November (a league-best 102.0)

Defense To Offense: The Rockets rank seventh in deflections,

sixth in steals and fifth in turnovers forced. They have converted those turnovers into 20.9 ppg (2nd in NBA), while also ranking top five in 2nd chance points (17.7) and fast break points (18.2)

Rounding out the night on League Pass are two teams looking to 

build on their first-ever NBA Cup wins last week. 

Bulls (1-1, -4) at Wizards (0-2, -24) | East Group C | 7 ET, LP: In Chicago’s first NBA Cup win, the Bulls handed the Hawks their first loss of the 2024 competition

Chicago will look improve its group standing tonight against a

Wizards team still seeking its first-ever Cup win (0-6)Spurs (1-1, +1) at Jazz (0-2, -14) | West Group B | 9 ET, LP: In San Antonio’s first NBA Cup win, the Spurs overcame the absence of their top three scorers – Victor Wembanyama, Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan – to defeat the Thunder at home

Wemby has returned since and should be available as the Spurs

face the Jazz for the fourth and final time this season