The Memphis Grizzlies were supposed to play a game yesterday against the Denver Nuggets. However, due to bad weather that is sweeping across the United States, the game was postponed. Now, the Grizzlies will travel to Houston and be relatively rested if a bit disheveled.
The Rockets and Grizzlies are both around tenth in adjusted defensive efficiency, which means both give up about 114 points per 100 possessions. The difference between the teams is on offense, where Houston is fifth and Memphis is twenty-fifth.
Memphis’s best player, by efficiency, is Cam Spencer. I doubt anyone had that on their Bingo cards, but here we are. He’s got a true shooting percentage of 66.9% and assists on 33% of Memphis’s made shots while he’s on the floor. Jock Landale, freed from Houston’s “Go grab rebounds” play style, has flourished as well. Jaren Jackson Jr., Jaylen Wells, rookie Cedric Coward, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will get the majority of the rest of the minutes.
Memphis is dealing with plenty of injuries (see below) and seem headed for a future as sellers at the trade deadline.
Let’s not beat around the bush: The Lakers aren’t NBA title contenders.
At least, not yet.
And don’t kid yourself either, because you already knew they weren’t, despite having flashes of being the type of team that could play deeper into the NBA calendar.
Lakers’ Luka Dončić works the floor against Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall, Jan. 24. AP
Yes, the Lakers — with a 27–17 record after Saturday’s road win over the Dallas Mavericks for their third victory in four games — are jumbled up with a few other Western Conference teams in the standings, and aren’t too far behind the No. 2 spot.
Yes, they’ve had significant injury misfortune: LeBron James sidelined for training camp, the preseason, and the first 14 regular-season games due to sciatica; and Austin Reaves playing just two games since mid-December because of calf injuries.
Because of their misfortunes in player availability, the Lakers have had their three best players in Reaves, James and Luka Dončić for the same game just eight times out of the 44 they’ve played so far.
Lakers’ Austin Reaves handles the ball during the game against the Houston Rockets on Dec. 25, 2025 at Crypto Arena, Los Angeles. NBAE via Getty Images
Speaking of Dončić, the Lakers also have an MVP-quality player, which is historically necessary for championship contenders.
And yet, as of right now, they aren’t contenders.
Not like the Thunder. Or the Nuggets. Or the Spurs. Or the Eastern Conference team of your choice, since that conference does have to be represented in the NBA Finals.
The Lakers’ defense? Not good enough, ranking No. 25 across the league — which is an improvement on that end of the floor after they picked up their play over the last week.
LeBron James reacts after a basket by the Dallas Mavericks during the game on Jan. 24 in Dallas. AP
Their offense? Very good, ranking No. 9, but not great like it needs to be to compensate for their poor perimeter defense, and far from the heights expected of them with Dončić, James and Reaves on the roster.
The roster? Not balanced enough with players consistently effective on both ends of the floor, or that complement one another.
Their effort and execution? Not consistent enough, which is why 15 of their 17 losses have been by double digits, and they have a negative point differential on the season, which can often be a better indicator of the quality of a team instead of their record.
Do you know what true contenders are? Consistent.
The Lakers are still figuring out who they are on a nightly basis.
“For the group as a whole, the effort and execution piece is probably the biggest two things,” Lakers Coach JJ Redick said Saturday. “I’ve used the word ‘consistency’ a lot. We’re just looking for that. Because again, we’ve shown that we can execute on both ends. And we’ve shown that we can have effort on both ends. It’s just a matter of consistency.”
The good news for the Lakers is that despite their obvious flaws, many of which were evident before they even played their first game, they’re closer to being contenders than it often feels.
Dončić talks to Coach JJ Redick during the game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Jan. 6. Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Here’s what needs to happen to help them go from pretenders to contenders:
First, when Reaves makes his return to the floor, which appears to be imminent and could be during the Grammy road trip, do NOT go back to the starting lineup of Dončić, Reaves, James, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton.
Although it only played a small sample of minutes (85), that unit was responsible for the team’s slow starts to games from mid-November through mid-December. It performed poorly on both ends of the floor, leading to a minus-19.9 net rating.
The Lakers’ current starting lineup, with Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia in place of Reaves and Hachimura, hasn’t been great (minus-1.6 net rating), but it’s been good enough because it has balance. And the players are slotted into roles they’re better suited for defensively. When fully healthy, Smart, who’s been the team’s best defender this season, should start in place of Hachimura, who can still be valuable in a reserve role.
It’s a shame the Dončić-Reaves-Smart-James-Ayton lineup has only played three minutes.
The Lakers also need to be elite offensively. Very good or borderline great isn’t good enough for a team that’ll have its defensive struggles, even if Smart is in the first unit and more balanced lineups are used throughout the game.
The team can get closer to reaching its offensive ceiling if the players are more consistent with being organized offensively, which includes running plays/sets. It’s proven to be when the Lakers are at their best.
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It’s obvious that a trade for a two-way wing/guard is needed. A player better than Smart who could guard bigger wings while also being a reliable 3-point threat.
The Lakers aren’t as far from being contenders as some might think. But if they don’t fix their obvious issues, we’ll be back here in early May talking about their season in the past tense for the third consecutive year.
TORONTO (AP) — Brock Nelson scored twice in a 1:12 span in the first period and sealed his fifth career hat trick with an empty-netter in the Colorado Avalanche’s 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.
Jack Drury also scored to help NHL-leading Colorado improve to 35-6-9. MacKenzie Blackwood made 32 saves.
Colorado became the fourth team in NHL history with six or fewer regulation losses through 50 games, joining the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers (35-3-12), 1943-44 Montreal Canadiens (38-5-7) and 1975-76 Canadiens (36-6-8).
The last team with at least 77 points through 50 contests was the 2022-23 Boston Bruins (38-7-5), who went on to set the NHL record for wins in a season with 65.
Max Domi had a late power-play goal for Toronto, and Joseph Woll stopped 33 shots. The Maple Leafs are 24-19-9.
The Maple Leafs had a 4-3 overtime victory in Denver on Jan. 12, but have dropped six of seven (1-4-2), including an ugly 0-3-1 start to their current five-game homestand following an 8-0-2 run.
DUCKS 4, FLAMES 3, OT
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Rookie Beckett Sennecke scored at 2:54 of overtime for his first NHL hat trick as Anaheim rallied to beat Calgary.
Sennecke’s winner came on a 2-on-1 in which he kept the puck and snapped a shot past Dustin Wolf, just inside the post.
Chris Kreider also scored for Anaheim (28-21-3), which extended its winning streak to seven games. Mikael Granlund and Alex Killorn each had two assists. Lukas Dostal made 32 saves and improved to 19-12-2.
Sennecke’s three-goal effort gives him 18 for the season and 41 points overall, which places him second in rookie scoring to Montreal’s Ivan Demidov, who has 11 goals and 32 assists for 43 points.
The Ducks moved to within one point of the second-place Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific Division. Anaheim holds one game in hand. The Ducks and Oilers play Monday in Edmonton.
KRAKEN 4, DEVILS 2
SEATTLE (AP) — Matty Beniers and Berkly Catton scored 18 seconds apart in the third period, Joey Daccord made 27 saves and Seattle beat New Jersey.
Ryker Evans and Jordan Eberle also scored for Seattle, which has won three of their last 10 games. Beniers was playing in his 300th career NHL game.
Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes scored for the Devils. Jacob Markstrom stopped 15 shots in his sixth start in New Jersey’s last seven games. The Devils conclude their four-game Pacific Division road trip with a 3-1-0 record.
Hamilton opened the scoring 8:11 into the first period with a clean shot on the power play. Scoring his sixth goal of the season, Hamilton now has eight points in his last nine games.
Evans tied the game at 7:37 in the second period. The shot hit Johnathan Kovacevic’s stick and slipped through Markstrom’s pads, who appeared to be heavily screened.
Beniers and Catton scored back-to-back for Seattle, with their goals coming at 7:04 and 7:22 in the third period, respectively.
SENATORS 7, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Stephen Halliday had two goals and an assist, Dylan Cozens also scored twice and Ottawa routed the road-weary Vegas.
Senators goalie Linus Ullmark returned to to the active roster from a personal leave, backing up Mads Sogaard. Ullmark was the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner.
Halliday scored his second and third career goals, and added the assist for a three-point game in his first season in the NHL.
Fabian Zetterlund, Jordan Spence and Nick Jensen also scored, and Brady Tkachuk had three assists. Sogaard stopped 19 shots.
Rasmus Andersson scored in third period for Vegas, making it 7-1. It was the defenseman’s first goal in two games with the Golden Knights following a trade with Calgary.
PENGUINS 3, CANUCKS 2
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Rookie Ben Kindel scored twice in the second period to lead Pittsburgh to a win over Vancouver and a sweep of Pittsburgh’s four-game western Canada trip.
Kindel, from nearby Coquitlam, British Columbia, had a large contingent of supporters on hand for his second multi-goal game. The 18-year-old had gone 20 games without a goal after scoring eight in his first 28 and has 10 goals and 12 assists in 48 games.
Evgeni Malkin also scored for the Penguins (26-14-11), and Stuart Skinner stopped 19 shots and won for the seventh time in eight games.
Jake DeBrusk and Teddy Blueger scored in the third period for the Canucks (17-30-5), who failed to complete their comeback try and dropped their second straight. Kevin Lankinen stopped 21 shots.
PANTHERS 5, BLACKHAWKS 1
CHICAGO (AP) — Defenseman Tobias Bjornfot scored his first two goals this season — giving him just three over seven NHL seasons and 139 career games — and Florida defeated Chicago for their third straight win.
Mackie Samoskevich and Carter Verhaeghe connected 2:04 apart early in the third period and Sam Reinhart added an empty-netter as the Panthers won for the sixth time in eight. Daniil Tarasov made 19 saves and the two-time defending Stanley Cup Panthers moved eight games over .500 for the first time this season.
Tyler Bertuzzi scored his team-leading 25th goal for the Blackhawks. Spencer Knight, who started his career with Florida, made 20 saves and fell to 0-2 against his former team.
The teams generated only a handful of chances through the first and second periods and neither pressured with a territorial edge.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 21 of his 28 points in the first half as the Los Angeles Clippers built a 38-point lead in the second quarter and beat the Brooklyn Nets 126-89 on Sunday.
James Harden scored 19 points, John Collins added 18, and Jordan Miller had 16. Ivica Zubac finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Clippers, who were coming off a victory over the Lakers on Thursday, won for the eighth time in nine games.
Danny Wolf scored 14 points and Egor Demin had 12 for the Nets, who shot 28 percent in the first half and 34 percent (29 for 86) overall, including 21 percent (9 for 43) from 3-point range. Brooklyn lost its fourth straight and has dropped 10 of its last 11 games and 13 of 15.
The Clippers charged to a 24-point lead in the first quarter and extended their advantage to 38 points in the second, carrying a 68-37 lead into the break. Los Angeles maintained its lopsided advantage in the third quarter and was ahead 96-66 headed into the fourth.
It was another lopsided win for the Clippers over the Nets in Los Angeles. When the teams met in LA on Jan. 15, 2025, the Clippers won 126-67, and the 59-point margin of victory is the only 50-point win for the Clippers.
Up next
Nets: At the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday in the second game of a five-game trip.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 21 of his 28 points in the first half as the Los Angeles Clippers built a 38-point lead in the second quarter and beat the Brooklyn Nets 126-89 on Sunday.
James Harden scored 19 points, John Collins added 18, and Jordan Miller had 16. Ivica Zubac finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Clippers, who were coming off a victory over the Lakers on Thursday, won for the eighth time in nine games.
Danny Wolf scored 14 points and Egor Demin had 12 for the Nets, who shot 28% in the first half and 34% (29 for 86) overall, including 21% (9 for 43) from 3-point range. Brooklyn lost its fourth straight and has dropped 10 of its last 11 games and 13 of 15.
The Clippers charged to a 24-point lead in the first quarter and extended their advantage to 38 points in the second, carrying a 68-37 lead into the break. Los Angeles maintained its lopsided advantage in the third quarter and was ahead 96-66 headed into the fourth.
It was another lopsided win for the Clippers over the Nets in Los Angeles. When the teams met in LA on Jan. 15, 2025, the Clippers won 126-67, and the 59-point margin of victory is the only 50-point win for the Clippers.
Up next
Nets: At the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday in the second game of a five-game trip.
At first, it was just a bad start. It quickly grew worse. And by the time Kawhi Leonard jogged into a pull-up three, extending the lead to 47-14 and forcing Jordi Fernández to call another timeout, it was officially ugly. The Los Angeles Clippers had dogged the Brooklyn Nets in less than 15 minutes of game-time, and the next three-ish quarters would be simply cosmetic for the Clippers, a botched botox for the Nets.
The Nets never let it get quite as bad as their 54-point loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday, nor their franchise-worst 59-point loss to these Clippers about a year ago. But when you’re trailing by nearly 40 points in the first half, it feels about the same…
Nets get gifted a 5-on-4 possession and miss four shots
Kris Dunn limps to the sideline in the middle of the play and limps back in for the rebound pic.twitter.com/2dUsmmVyN8
If the Nets hadn’t been blown out by the Knicks earlier this week, they could have used the injury excuse, as feeble as it would be. Noah Clowney (back soreness), Cam Thomas (ankle sprain), and Nolan Traore (illness) all missed this one; Terance Mann was re-inserted into the starting lineup and Ben Saraf saw his first NBA action since December 6.
But Brooklyn shot 20% from the field in the first quarter, trailing 38-14 after 12 minutes of play, quickly destroying any hope that Friday’s resilient performance against the Boston Celtics was a sign of things to come. The Nets had their issues in that game too — notably their crunch-time defense — but they took a formidable opponent right down to the wire. With a career-best night from rookie Nolan Traore (21 points), it was just about the perfect loss in a tanking season.
Sunday’s night’s loss to the Clippers just stunk. Ben Saraf scored six points with four turnovers, Drake Powell put up five points and four turnovers, and Danny Wolf shot 3-of-13, inventing new ways to miss layups. Egor Dëmin shot just 3-of-11, but he did hit three straight 3-pointers while getting fouled on another in the third quarter, giving the Nets fans bored enough to keep the game on for that long something to hold onto.
Not that the veterans did much better. In fact, Wolf and Dëmin were the only Nets to reach double-digits; the team shot 33.7% from the floor and a grotesque 20.9% from deep. However, all 12 Nets played and all 12 scored, including a triple from E.J. Liddell, so that’s something? The highlight of the game may have been Terance Mann getting a technical foul on Dëmin’s behalf…
John Collins pushes Egor Demin after he wraps up James Harden on a fastbreak. Terance Mann comes in and shoves Collins with some words for him after.
Conversely, the Clippers shot 56.4% from the floor, including a tidy 12-of-25 from three. Like the Nets, all 12 of their guys scored, led by 28 points from Kawhi and 19 from James Harden.
“It’s part of life and part of learning and part of finding the next Nets,” said Jordi Fernández. “Because we know and believe that we have the right vision here of doing what we want to do and being successful as an organization with great ownership and management. And we’re obviously going to need the right pieces on the floor, the play-and-compete is a certain standard. And right now, out of three games, one out of three as far as being competitive is not good enough.”
Chris Carrino and Sarah Kustok did a much better job at filling space than I’m doing with the rest of this article, discussing the impending Super Bowl matchup and Kerry Kittles’ career. Carrino even closed with positivity, noting that Brooklyn shot 22-of-25 from the line in the formidable Intuit Dome, dropping a gem: “The Whammy beats The Wall.”
Fernández was not so cheerful in postgame: “I brought this up before: You can lose, and you can be a loser. For 18 minutes we lost, and we’re competitive. And for 30, we’re losers. So we have to decide what we want to be and who we want to be.”
The NBA has not yet announced the date of the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery.
Final Score: Los Angeles Clippers126, Brooklyn Nets 89
Milestone Watch
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Next Up
<p>Christian Petersen/Getty Images</p><br>
The Nets continue their five-game road trip by paying a visit to old friend and Coach of the Year candidate Jordan Ott. Tip-off against the Phoenix Suns is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET.
It was a frustrating loss for Phoenix, beaten 111-102 by Miami in a game where the Suns never really found their rhythm. Jaime Jaquez (20 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists) punished a too-permissive defense, while Brooks (26 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists) was one of the few offensive engines for Phoenix on an otherwise rough night.
The Suns lost the rebounding battle (59-56), had their shooting touch stay in the locker room (37% from the field, 20% from three, 80% from the line), and killed their own chances by committing 24 fouls. A perfect cocktail for spending the night chasing the score without ever truly threatening Miami.
Game Flow
First Half
A fairly tight start to the game that we could have largely avoided with a bit more focus and execution as the team had 4 turnovers in the first 3 minutes (7-7). Spoelstra calls the first timeout after nearly 6 minutes of play (13-15 in our favor). The tendencies of both teams are confirmed: the Suns shoot boldly from three, while the Heat attack aggressively in the short mid-range and in the paint.
After this timeout, Miami adjusts well: more defensive intensity and more presence on the offensive glass, snagging 5 offensive rebounds and 8 second-chance points. The Suns’ offense starts to stall, and the lack of rebounding forces Jordan Ott to call a timeout with 4 minutes left in the quarter. But the Heat keep pushing where it hurts and go on a 17-2 run since Spoelstra’s first timeout, with 2 minutes still left in the quarter.
Result: 32-21 for the Heat after 12 minutes. The Suns clearly were not in their game: 5 turnovers, 15 rebounds conceded, and already 10 fouls committed…way too much. They needed to shift gears and wake up, because the face they’ve displayed was far from pretty.
Phoenix was much better in the second quarter: more aggressive on the boards (5 to 1 in 3 minutes), which allowed them to cut the deficit to 4 points (38-34). The momentum gradually flips: Phoenix ramps up the intensity, goes on a 19-8 run and ties the game (40-40, 7 minutes before halftime).
The Suns even take the lead at the free-throw line (42-44), fueled by collective aggressiveness, much stronger defense — Miami goes 4 minutes without a field goal — and a very impactful stint from Livers (4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 stocks).
But at halftime, the Heat have almost regained a 10-point lead, and it makes sense. The Phoenix offensive flow was simply terrible as they were shooting from anywhere, at any time. Hard to expect better with a 2-of-19 from three, and nearly half of their shots taken more than a meter behind the arc. Where were they even trying to go with this?
Second Half
The start of the second half looked eerily similar to the beginning of the game: too many missed shots, too many poor offensive decisions. The Suns were a bit more present on the boards, but were still committing way too many fouls. Result: 67-56 after four minutes, and Jordan Ott is already forced to call a timeout.
It’s frustrating because the team is clearly capable of much better, but the upside of this team is that it never quits. A small 9-0 run forces Spoelstra to call a timeout in response: when the aggressiveness is there, and Phoenix attacked the easy spots, everything becomes much simpler.
The gap stabilizes around five points (78-73, 2 minutes left in the third quarter), and Livers’ energy is doing a lot of good. But if the Suns wanted to finally take the lead, they had to stop fouling: we’re already giving up 22 points at the line.
The quarter ends with the Heat up 82-77. We can thank Isaiah Livers’ prayer three-pointer for keeping Phoenix within striking distance heading into the final act of the night.
The fourth quarter starts poorly, and the punishment is immediate: down 12 (89-77). It’s almost logical in the end. The Suns’ offensive flow is simply horrible. It’s hard to say, but there’s no other word. With 10 minutes left, they were shooting 36% from the field, 21% from three, 79% from the line. Add to that an assist-to-turnover ratio close to even, and you get maybe one of their worst offensive performances of the season.
I’m not usually pessimistic, but down 15 with 7 minutes to go, given the flow of the game, it’s hard to see a scenario where Phoenix could actually take the lead. Coming back, sure. Taking the lead? I doubt it. They never managed to capitalize when we had the chance.
Jaime Jaquez has been hurting them since the end of the third quarter. He’s already at 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists: the Heat’s sixth man is finding easy shots, playing the right way, and getting rewarded. That’s exactly what Phoenix should be taking inspiration from if we don’t want to suffer through this closing stretch.
107-94 with 3 minutes left. The Suns try to make a push, but it feels too late. Classic basketball irony: it’s when there’s no pressure left that we start playing simply, attacking the right spots, sharing the ball. This loss is going to be frustrating.
Fleming and Maluach check into the game: time to prove something. Do what you have to do to earn credit. Hayes-Davis, Bouyea, and Dunn are also on the floor. They know, I know, you know: see you against Brooklyn in two days. Final score: 111-102.
Up Next
After this very frustrating loss, the Suns will try to bounce back against the Nets in two days, a home game where we should normally be favored. But in the NBA, you never really know what to expect (tonight’s game was proof of that).
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Rookie Beckett Sennecke scored at 2:54 of overtime for his first NHL hat trick as the Anaheim Ducks rallied to beat the Calgary Flames 4-3 Sunday night.
Sennecke's winner came on a 2-on-1 in which he kept the puck and snapped a shot past Dustin Wolf, just inside the post.
Chris Kreider also scored for Anaheim (28-21-3), which extended its winning streak to seven games. Mikael Granlund and Alex Killorn each had two assists. Lukas Dostal made 32 saves and improved to 19-12-2.
Sennecke’s three-goal effort gives him 18 for the season and 41 points overall, which places him second in rookie scoring to Montreal’s Ivan Demidov, who has 11 goals and 32 assists for 43 points.
The Ducks moved to within one point of the second-place Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific Division. Anaheim holds one game in hand. The Ducks and Oilers play Monday in Edmonton.
Jonathan Huberdeau, Matt Coronato and Hunter Brzustewicz, who had his first NHL goal, scored for Calgary (21-25-6), which is winless in its last four games (0-2-2). Wolf, who had 17 stops, falls to 15-21-2.
Huberdeau’s ninth goal snapped a 10-game goalless streak. Brzustewicz’s first NHL goal comes in his 18th game.
Calgary entered the game having scored just once in each of its last three games since the trading away of defenseman Rasmus Andersson. However, goals less than two minutes apart by Huberdeau and Brzustewicz gave the Flames a 2-0 lead eight minutes into the first period.
Tied 2-2 entering the third period, Coronato broke the deadlock at 4:50 before Kreider tied it at 13:08 and forced the extra session.
Anaheim’s second seven-game winning streak of the season gives the Ducks multiple seven-game runs in a season for the first time since 2014-15, when they also had two.
Up next
Ducks: At Edmonton on Monday in fourth game of a five-game trip.
The Lakers (27-17) look to build off their recent victory in Dallas where they will take on the Bulls (23-22), who are also coming off an impressive win. This is the first meeting between the two teams this season.
For the first time in this current road trip, the Lakers didn’t allow themselves to go down by double figures before halftime against the Mavericks. Instead, they put on a terrific two-way performance to begin the game and while they may have lost the lead in the third quarter, they staged a comeback to come away victorious. It was a different script this time, but one that perfectly encapsulates this team.
It’s uncertain how much longer this Lakers team can keep relying on comeback victories to save them but hey, if it’s working and leading to wins right now, then maybe they’re never going to change. After all, the purple and gold are now 14-2 in clutch games, which still ranks first in the league. This should once again be tested against the Bulls, who are also one of the best clutch teams in the association.
In fact, the Bulls are coming off an impressive clutch victory against the Boston Celtics and have now won four straight games. They also recently beat the Minnesota Timberwolves and L.A. Clippers. They average 117.9 points per game, which ranks seventh in the league. Their offense is what propels them to victory because, similar to the Lakers, their defense is below average.
Chicago may not have All-Stars on its team, but it has players who can play like one on any given night. Coby White is someone that Los Angeles may have a tough time with, as well as Matas Buzelis and Kevin Huerter, given their lack of perimeter defense. Chicago also has the likes of Josh Giddey and Nikola Vučević, who can impact the game when they want to. The Lakers’ defense — which has shown promise in spurts over the last three games — needs to be present in this one.
Note that the Bulls are the seventh-best 3-point shooting team in the league and are a very good rebounding team, qualities that the Lakers don’t possess. However, the Bulls don’t score and defend well inside the paint, so that’s where the Lakers can take advantage.
Will L.A. go with their small-ball lineup that spearheaded the comeback against the Mavericks last Saturday? Or will they go big and give Deandre Ayton — who had one of his worst games as a Laker on Saturday — the opportunity to bounce back? Whatever the case may be, the Lakers will need another good game from Luka Dončić because the Bulls don’t have an answer for him or for LeBron James.
The Lakers have been extremely up-and-down as of late. They haven’t won three straight games since Jan.7 but at least they’re performing better recently. This roadtrip has so far been good for them and if they keep it up, they’ll be able to avoid falling into the play-in category of the competitive Western Conference standings.
Now that they head east, let’s see if Los Angeles can keep their winning ways going.
Notes and Updates
The Lakers’ injury report has a new name on it in Jake LaRavia (left quad contusion) who is questionable.
As expected, Austin Reaves (left calf strain) and Adou Thiero (right MCL sprain) are listed as out.
For the Bulls, Tre Jones (left hamstring strain) is doubtful while Zach Collins (right toe sprain) and Noa Essengue (left shoulder surgery) are out.
The Spurs suffered one of their worst losses of the season. Their thrilling comeback attempt shouldn’t eclipse the fact that they once again seemed to underestimate a less talented team that was a lot hungrier than they were. The Pelicans played with physicality, and their reward was a 104-95 gutsy road win that should have been impossible to pull off without San Antonio’s complicity.
It was an encouraging start for the Silver and Black. They seemed to have a sound defensive gameplan to defend Derik Queen by putting Stephon Castle on the playmaking big man, and they were executing well on offense on two-man actions with Victor Wembanyama and Castle, mostly because De’Aaron Fox was hitting his corner threes. The Spurs pushed the ball whenever they could and got Devin Vassell back off the bench to bolster their offense. Unfortunately, they just couldn’t get separation when they were at their best, and the second unit struggled mightily on defense. The Pelicans felt much more comfortable attacking Luke Kornet, who played a deep drop and didn’t have much help from the main defenders in pick-and-rolls. Through mostly hustle on defense and the offensive boards, New Orleans managed to only trail by three after one.
San Antonio’s offense looked stagnant at times in the opening frame, but things fell completely apart in the second. They didn’t score a single fastbreak point and had to go up against a surprisingly disciplined Pelicans half-court defense that didn’t give up many good looks. Had the Spurs managed to make it a defensive battle, they could have stayed in front or within a couple of possessions, but they had no answers for Zion Williamson, who scored 10 points and dished out three assists in the quarter, taking defenders off the dribble and challenging Wembanyama inside as a roll man. The offensive boards kept going New Orleans’ way and the Silver and Black couldn’t match the energy of their opponent. There was a sense of frustration that resulted in Fox getting a technical at the end of the half, which finished with the visitors up nine.
The Pelicans missed the technical free throw after the break, but it didn’t take long for them to reach a double-digit lead in spite of it. It was a completely disastrous start to the half for the Spurs, which played with little physicality and urgency and made inexplicable mistakes on both ends. Mitch Johnson sat his entire starting lineup arguably a timeout too late, and San Antonio found some life, especially through the play of their two rookies. With Williamson resting and the momentum on their side, the Silver and Black chipped away at a lead that had reached 20 at one point and seemed insurmountable given the way the team was playing. Several names stepped up to get the team back in it by using their opponent’s recipe: just play harder. Heading into the final frame, New Orleans was still up 14, but there was hope of a comeback.
The problem with digging yourself a hole and trying to climb out of it is that it drains the energy needed to fight once you get back up. The Spurs played with inspiring physicality and intensity for long enough to not only catch the Pelicans but take the lead. Then they just ran out of juice. Some questionable coaching decisions didn’t help, but it’s likely San Antonio reverted to relying on threes instead of pushing the pace and attacking the rim at every opportunity because the ones that made the comeback attempt possible were exhausted, and the ones who sat during it were out of rhythm. New Orleans deserves all the credit for always continuing to play, relying on hustle and aggressiveness when the execution wasn’t there, and for pulling off a completely deserved win against an opponent that likely didn’t take them seriously, but hopefully learned its lesson.
Game notes
Is this loss the end of the world for the Spurs? A reason to panic? It depends on how you see them. If they are a young team overachieving during a developmental year, it’s not a big deal. If you think they are a dark-horse contender, the trend of being outhustled by physical teams and the questionable coaching decisions are definitely concerning. Choose your own adventure.
Victor Wembanyama had 16 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks. The three wasn’t there, plus he missed several free throws, so the offense is nothing to worry about. While he had amazing plays on defense, he was late on rotations, especially in the fourth, and looked a step too slow. It’s probably a lack of familiarity with the scheme, combined with having to cover too much ground, but Wemby has looked mortal on defense at times lately.
Devin Vassell’s return was a bright spot. He looked understandably rusty at times, but he hit some shots and was up to the challenge to play against a physical team. He also learned the lesson. “You don’t want to be a team that’s looked at as being soft,” he said postgame.
It’s incredibly tempting to put the loss on Stephon Castle. The team went on a run with him on the bench and crumbled with him on the floor, especially on offense, in the second half. But why was he out there to close when Harper and Fox had both been better on that end? It likely wouldn’t have made a difference, but Mitch Johnson should probably gone with the guys that got the game close in the first place to try to get the win.
The Spurs missed 32 of their 44 three-point attempts and 13 of their 32 free throws. Had they hit shots, especially the timely ones, they might have stolen the win despite being outscored by 24 in the paint and allowing 26 second-chance points off 19 Pelicans offensive rebounds.
Play of the game
A fan won $10,000 by making a half-court three off the shot clock, so it wasn’t all bad on Sunday.
This Spurs fan just won $10k off a half court shot bouncing off the shot clock😭 pic.twitter.com/YVuO6Hhqb8
With the Golden State Warriors maintaining a nine-point over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Warriors were sauntering into their after-timeout (ATO) play with Stephen Curry bringing the ball up the floor and Quinten Post trailing close behind him. De’Anthony Melton lifts toward the wing in order to receive the pass from Curry; Melton then immediately dishes the ball to Post at the top of the arc. Meanwhile, Curry relocates to the opposite wing via a “shallow” cut.
While the top action is developing, there is another layer of action happening underneath the rim, in the form of Gui Santos receiving a cross-screen from Will Richard:
The purpose of this auxiliary action soon comes to light. With Richard setting the screen, Santos lifts up to set a ball screen for Curry. The screen has the distinct purpose of creating confusion below in order to create confusion up top. Naz Reid insists on fighting over the screen to stay on Santos. Reid also expects the cross-screen to be a maneuver intended to get Santos the ball on the right block; therefore, he stops just short of the right block. However, Santos does no such thing:
With Reid instead forced to guard the ball-screen action for Curry up top, the Wolves default into sending two on the ball against Curry, with the right corner unoccupied and whole side for Curry and Santos to work with. As expected, Curry dishes the ball to the rolling Santos, who sees only Anthony Edwards — the low man — in his path. Edwards steps up to help on the roll, but falls victim to a nifty up-fake by Santos, who gets an open layup for his effort:
By his standards, Curry had a subpar shooting game: 26 points on 7-of-18 shooting (3-of-10 on threes). He managed to add seven assists, tallied four steals, and still managed to put up a decent true shooting mark of 59.2 percent. The Warriors outscored the Wolves by 16 points in Curry’s 27 minutes and 38 seconds of time on the floor.
Curry did his job despite the less-than-gaudy shooting splits. But he was greatly helped by the supporting cast surrounding him. Santos made an impression on his roll during the possession above, but he had his greatest impact with Curry off the floor, along with a second-unit squad that rotated between the likes of De’Anthony Melton, Al Horford, Quinten Post, Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski, and Will Richard.
Amazingly, the different configurations of the non-Steph crew managed to generate sufficient offense to get them by without their sole remaining offensive fulcrum (and without their other offensive fulcrum, out for the season due to an unfortunate ACL tear).
Podziemski’s downhill momentum and paint touch, preceded by a Melton slot cut and a dribble handoff by Post, collapses the Wolves’ defense toward the drive. Reid helps off of the corner, with Bones Hyland being the remaining defender guarding the “two-side” (i.e., the side of the floor with two offensive players occupying the corner and the wing). Hield’s lift draws Hyland toward him, with Santos left open. Podziemski promptly kicks out to create the open corner look.
The flow that the non-Curry contingent was able to muster was a sight for sore eyes, even while the Warriors managed to blend complexity with simplicity. The Melton-Horford duo, in particular, stood out with regard to their tandem and chemistry in pick-and-roll action.
The initial Melton-Horford screening action doesn’t generate an overt advantage — but it does help in what happens down the line. Julius Randle is forced to switch onto Melton, who stays put in the right corner after giving up possession (and making Randle the “tag” man in a pick-and-roll situation). A Hield-Horford pick-and-roll lures Randle away from Melton in an attempt to tag the rolling Horford, who promptly kicks the ball out toward the open Melton for the three.
Other instances of the Melton-Horford pick-and-roll were more simpler outcomes born out of simple process:
Horford coaxes Donte DiVincenzo to switch onto him after the screen and promptly slips toward the rim to take advantage of DiVincenzo’s top-side position. Edwards attempts to bump DiVincenzo off of Horford via a “scram” switch, but Edwards is still considerably smaller than Horford. In the end, the switch does little to alleviate the predicament, with Melton finding Horford on the entry pass and Horford immediately going up for the layup without much trouble.
With a defense that was humming in almost every regard — they forced the Wolves into 25 turnovers (a turnover percentage of) with 25 points scored off of those turnovers — the Warriors headed into the game visibly prepared to execute the defensive gameplan, with the effort and tenacity to boot. Despite a Wolves squad that may have been affected by the tragic events that occurred the previous day, the Warriors were purely business-minded in their approach.
With Moses Moody unable to get through DiVincenzo’s screen, Draymond Green steps up to meet Edwards around the handoff. His sudden switch and jump toward Edwards forces the Wolves superstar to pass the ball immediately toward Rudy Gobert. But with Podziemski having switched onto Gobert, the pass is deflected and ultimately intercepted, with Gobert committing a foul to add insult to injury.
This, along with other crisp defensive possessions, contributed to a night in which the Warriors kept the Wolves to 83.3 points per 100 possessions — their worst offensive game of the season — while simultaneously notching their second-best defensive game of the season in terms of points allowed per 100 possessions. With Melton and Horford reportedly (and expectedly) being held out for the rematch tomorrow night — and Curry’s status also up in the air — it was paramount that the Warriors would at least come out of this unexpected back-to-back slate with at least one win. Mission accomplished, although a win tomorrow night would be a nifty bonus.
The Chicago Blackhawks had their point streak (3-games) snapped by the Florida Panthers on Sunday evening. After a special dedication ceremony for “Hockey Fights Cancer”, the product on the ice left a lot to be desired.
The first 45 minutes of the hockey game were scoreless. That was until 15:33 of the second period when Tobias Bjornfort gave Florida a 1-0 lead.
With 30 seconds remaining in the middle frame, Tyler Bertuzzi tied it thanks to a great play made by Wyatt Kaiser and Ilya Mikheyev to find him at the net-mouth.
In the third period, the Panthers took over. Mackie Samoskevich, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart, and Tobias Bjornfort's second goal of the game made it four unanswered for Florida. The 5-1 mark stood as the final score.
This loss for Chicago snapped a three-game point streak. They weren't outplayed until the third period, but that ultimately cost them the game.
Part of their struggles as a team overall, including in some of their wins, is scoring goals. Their offense has been lackluster for a couple of weeks now. Connor Bedard isn't producing at the same rate that he was before his injury, and the rest of the team isn't picking it up.
The power play, which had a good first half of the season, has been struggling in recent games. After going 0-3 on Sunday, they are now 0-17 over their last seven games, which has plummeted the entire unit down to 16th in the league with 20.5 percent.
With the loss, the Blackhawks will stay at 50 points. They are wildly improved compared to where they were with 30 games to go last year, but they have a long way to go before the playoffs are a realistic possibility.
The Blackhawks are back in action on Tuesday night when they pay a visit to the Minnesota Wild. It's another game against one of the elite teams in the NHL, except this one is a divisional matchup.
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The Vancouver Canucks battled to the end but fell 3-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Vancouver's goal scorers on Sunday were Jake DeBrusk and Teddy Blueger. As for Kevin Lankinen, he stopped 22 of the 25 shots he faced.
Sunday was another example of the Canucks going down by multiple goals and needing a big push in the third to try and tie the game. All three goals scored by the Penguins happened in the second period, which puts Vancouver's total to 67 goals against in the middle frame. Post-game, Head Coach Adam Foote spoke about the second period and why it has been an issue all year.
"It's we can't, we're fine and, you know, it seems like we don't get the first goal, or they get the first goal or the second, we kind of get off mentally," said Foote. "We get off our game a little bit, and we've discussed it. And once they get back on, you see what they can do. They just went out as a completely different team in the third. Controlled that game in the third. So we just got to not get frustrated at 0-0, or one, nothing. For a long time, we had a mistake. Just hang in there and just, you know, play."
The biggest storyline from this game came right before the final whistle as Brock Boeser took an elbow to the head from Bryan Rust. Boeser did skate off under his own power but was talking with the trainer on the way to the bench. While Foote did not give an update post-game, he did comment on the play.
"I don't have an update yet, but I just looked at the hit," said Foote. "It wasn't pretty. There was a headshot. A shoulder in his head. I'm sure the league will look at it. Even though he may have been desperate to get Bess down because it was a scrum at the net, I still think it was something that you had to be in control of your body. I thought it was a little bit vicious hit to the head.
As for a positive from the game, the Canucks were able to hold Sidney Crosby pointless and without a shot in this game. Foote and his staff mainly used Blueger and Elias Pettersson in the role to keep the future Hall of Famer in check. Post-game, Blueger spoke to the media about the matchup and how difficult it is to defend against Crosby.
"He's obviously one of the hardest matchups in the league," said Blueger. "So, you know, it's a very, very tough matchup. At the same time, you appreciate it. He's one of the all-time greats. And, yeah, going against him is, you know, a privilege in a way, too. So it's, it's hard work. But yeah, I think, Petey went against them a lot too, and did a good job against them."
Jan 25, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Filip Chytil (72) stick checks Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby (87) in the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Ultimately, Sunday replicated so many other nights this season. Vancouver fell into an early hole, showed off their resiliency, yet still came up short in the end. Overall, the positive remains that the game featured entertaining moments while also helping the tank as the Canucks picked up zero points and extended their lead at the bottom of the standings.
Stats and Facts:
- Jake DeBrusk breaks his eight-game scoring drought
- Teddy Blueger scores for the second-straight game
- Conor Garland records his first point of 2026
- Elias Pettersson's 290th career assist ties him with Dennis Kearns for the ninth most in franchise history
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
No Scoring
2nd Period:
5:24-PIT: Evgeni Malkin (13) from Tommy Novak and Egor Chinakhov 8:41- PIT: Ben Kindel (9) from Ryan Shea and Anthony Mantha 17:22- PIT: Ben Kindel (10) from Justin Brazeau and Brett Kulak
3rd Period:
6:29- VAN: Jake DeBrusk (13) from Elias Pettersson and Evander Kane 14:00- VAN: Teddy Blueger (3) from Liam Öhgren and Filip Hronek
Up Next:
The Canucks continue their homestand on Tuesday when they face the San Jose Sharks. While Kiefer Sherwood is injured, there is a chance he will make his Sharks debut on Tuesday. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
For the fifth and final game of their road-trip, the Toronto Raptors faced the Oklahoma City Thunder, clinching their fourth-straight victory, to the tune of 103-101. This was the first of their two contests this season, but Oklahoma City hasn’t lost at home to Toronto since 2022, a streak that the Raptors have now finally been able to break.
This matchup was tight from start to finish, with neither team able to build much of a lead. Ultimately the late-game defensive heroics of Scottie Barnes secured the win for the Raptors.
After a phenomenally strong start to the season (24-1) the Thunder have slowed down significantly, going 13-8 in the games that followed. Like many other teams at this stage of the season, they are battling injuries, missing Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, and Isaiah Hartenstein among others from their lineup. Despite being shorthanded, the Thunder put on another performance to be expected of the reigning NBA champions from top to bottom.
Headlined by the dynamic performance of Canadians Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort, their defence, ball movement, and shooting helped pave the way for their whole lineup. As a Canadian, it’s fun to watch them play well… except against Toronto… Shai finished with 24-3-6 with a steal and a pair of blocks while Dort had 19-8-2 along with two steals. Kenrich Williams and Aaron Wiggins also had strong performances off the bench.
Across the court, Toronto’s controlled ball movement was crucial for them from start to finish. Only 2 turnovers in the first half that didn’t lead to a single point for the Thunder was a key to this game. It wasn’t for lack of passing though, with many of their assists occurring in transition or tight to the basket through the defence. Their placement and execution were instrumental, highlighting the Raptors’ continued developing chemistry.
It was another all-around effort from the Raptors with six players in double figures. Immanuel Quickley had another excellent road performance with a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double while shooting 6-10 from long range. Scottie had another almost triple double with 10-10-8. His biggest contributions were defensive though, as he continues to make a case for defensive player of the year. He added a steal and three blocks to his growing defensive numbers, with a level of intensity in the stretch that sealed the game’s outcome for Toronto. Shooting only 3-8 would be enough to deflate many players, but there was no dip in effort for him and it paid off.
IQ came out strong from the opening minutes of the game. He scored an early 9 points in only 6 minutes of action, along with a pair of rebounds due to his aggressive energy on the defensive boards. His scoring was crucial for the Raps as no one else was able to really get much going.
Ingram struggled against Chet Holmgren’s length, managing to shoot only 2-7 from the field while looking a little uncomfortable throughout the first. Despite shooting only 39% from the field collectively in the quarter, the Raptors were down only 5 points.
Toronto settled in to start the second, utilizing a combination of high screen and rolls and drop-off passes at the rim to catch up and periodically lead in a back-and-forth with the Thunder. Ingram was able to operate more easily in the absence of Holmgren, cashing in 6 points quickly.
The Thunder were able to get ahead with their superior 3-point shooting led by Lu Dort and Isaiah Joe. Toronto’s ball movement and transition play allowed them to outscore OKC by 9 in the frame to hold a 54-50 lead on the way into the locker room.
The Raptors were able to sustain their lead for much of the third quarter, held onto with solid defence. The help was active and they were able to get extra deflections and touches on the ball that denied Oklahoma City opportunities. Scottie continued to struggle from the field, but even more so with the whistle. Committing his fourth foul sent him on the bench, while OKC lost Jaylin Williams for the remainder of the game after a tough fall while trying to draw a charge.
Shai began to look for his own shot now, with Walter and Shead both struggling to contain him. Toronto worked to find a solution for the zone defence the Thunder showed intermittently but were able to stay within a possession by the close of the quarter.
In the final frame it took only a couple minutes for Scottie to earn his fifth foul and return to the bench. In his absence, the bench was able to keep them in the game with Dick, Shead, and Walter all contributing.
Walter continued to evolve in his assignment of Shai, fighting to deny him the ball on every possession. The Raptors worked hard, doubling him at times to try and force what was left of OKC’s bench to make shots. In the final minutes, they relied on IQ to make a pair of big 3-pointers from the same spot in back to back possessions.
As with much of the season, their late-game execution was solid, holding a single-possession lead with half a minute left in the game. A massive block by Scottie earned Toronto the ball back, and after Shead missed a pair of free-throws, he came up big again to tip the rebound out where they retained possession of the ball and IQ could convert the free-throws. They let the last few seconds run out, played disciplined defence to avoid fouling, and walked off the floor with another win.
Next, the Raptors will return home to face another tough competitor in the New York Knicks, hoping to keep their win streak alive. They will have an extra day to rest and help with lingering injuries to the lineup. Tune in Wednesday at 7:30pm on Sportsnet.
