It could be a very different looking Utah Jazz team when they step out onto the court on Wednesday night to face the surging San Antonio Spurs, especially in the front court. After a physical game on Monday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, Jaren Jackson Jr. is out for at least six weeks with a torn MCL in his right knee. Both Lauri Markkanen (wrist) and Jaxson Hayes (shoulder) are game time decisions and Jusuf Nurkic is still nursing a partial plantar plate tear in his right foot, leaving the team very short in the tall department.

Not a good situation when Victor Wembanyama is coming to town. The Spurs will be on the second night of a back to back, but may be well rested after a lopsided 130-103 throttling of the lowly Sacramento Kings. We can hope that Utah’s altitude may slow Wemby down, but then the French phenom has an altitude all his own. Who can the Jazz start to battle Wemby down low?

Enter Mo Bamba. Coming off a gritty 14 point, 7 rebound and 4 block performance against the Grizzlies, Bamba is finally getting an opportunity to contribute important minutes and the lights only get brighter on Wednesday night. To be clear, Zach Edey is not Victor Wembanyama. The challenge is about to get exponentially harder. But the way Bamba, Keyonte George and Ace Bailey rallied the troops on Monday night, almost stealing an unlikely victory when all the odds seemed stacked against them, says a lot about the fight in this under-manned squad.

Wednesday night will also provide a showdown between number 2 draft picks: Dylan Harper from 2025 and Darryn Peterson from 2026. Harper came off the bench most of last year, but was a vital piece in the Spurs’ run to the NBA finals. He has now earned a starting role on this year’s team. Peterson is still finding his legs in the pro league, has looked a little lost at times, but has also shown flashes of his potential. We can only hope that his trajectory follows Harper’s. Wednesday night will be a big test as he goes head to head with one of the young rising stars of the league.

The game can be seen on KJZZ TV beginning at 7pm MST, with the pre-game at 6:30pm.

Josh Hart took just two shots tonight, but swished ‘em both—and the second was a clutch bomb that saved a blowout from becoming a very uncomfortable final two minutes at MSG.

When the New York Knicks (1-3) hosted the Detroit Pistons (3-1) at the Garden, the world champs were not necessarily desperate for a win. A fourth loss would surely have caused meltdowns across the nation, however. These Pistons are no pushovers, either, and although we’d read that Ausar Thompson would sit with a bad ankle, he suited up. Because real hoopers don’t pass up a chance to play on basketball’s biggest stage.

After surrendering 38 points in the first quarter, New York held Detroit to 25 over the next two quarters with a reassuring return to their defensive form. Jalen Brunson overcame a horrid shooting night with 13 points at the free-throw line, and Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a whopping 27-20 double-double as New York reached a 27-point lead in the fourth. Detroit chipped and chipped, however, until a mere 11-points separated the score. That’s when the otherwise gunshy Hart stepped in. Thanks to his bomb, New York could breathe a sigh of relief and finish the night victoriously. Final score: 111-97.

We love jinxes in our favor. The broadcast reported that Detroit had not trailed in a week. New York broke that dominant streak with four opening points. A certain sanity seemed restored to their offense, too. Early on, Karl-Anthony Towns stood tall at the left elbow and fed passes to slicing wings OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges. The latter was blocked at the rim but took a positive turn by connecting from deep, ending his own streak of ten consecutive misses to start the season.

DUNKANOBY pic.twitter.com/ekMJobz50P

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 28, 2026

Detroit stunk on the perimeter, bricking five of six tries. Cade Cunningham and John Collins crashed the glass, though, and four separate Pistons notched a block over the first eight minutes. Their defenders were extra-handsy with Jalen Brunson, who repeatedly failed to get significant separation. They were the second-best defense last season, after all.

After J.B. Bickerstaff called a timeout to settle his crew, they rode a 12-6 run to an eight-point lead, then stretched it to 11 and eventually 13. Following triples by Kevin Huerter and Daniss Jenkins, Anunoby made his first longball to slow the bleeding. But Paul Reed, filling in for an injured Jalen Duren, had a sizzle-touch and made his fifth bucket to secure a 38-25 lead at the buzzer.

The Knicks shot badly in the first quarter and did so again in the second. The guests were generous with their misses, too, and when Bridges connected on his second(!) triple, Bickerstaff needed another timeout.

KAT committed two fouls in six seconds, Cunningham hit from deep, and the deficit returned to double digits. The Knicks tightened their defense, though, and a run fueled by Shamet, Drummond, and a KAT tip-in tied the score near the four-minute mark. Detroit had missed almost everything this quarter, and Brunson’s shots weren’t falling either: he missed nine of his first ten. He, KAT, and OG combined to shoot just 1-of-14 from yard in the half. At least they attempted shots, which Josh Hart declined to do. Despite his shooting woes, Cap was nearly perfect at the line, netting two freebies that put his crew ahead 51-50 at intermission.

Third three of the night from Mikal giving the Knicks a lead after trailing by 13 in the first pic.twitter.com/ltE2v1GXnN

— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) October 28, 2026

The guests shot 3-of-21 in the second quarter and were outscored 26-12. Whatever they did right in the half occurred around the basket: they won the paint 20-16, won the glass 30-23, and blocked nine shots. Making 13 of their 14 free throws kept the Knicks afloat, because their shooting sure didn’t. Neither team could make a three (NYK 26%; DET 24%). Reed topped the first-half scoresheet with 16 points. Brunson led the Knicks with 11.

Our heroes rocketed out of the locker room with a 13-2 run. Detroit’s frustration began to come out sideways. After a Duncan Robinson make, Towns and Reed got tangled under the rim. KAT bristled at an elbow to the back of his head and stepped toward the Piston. They had to be separated, Reed received a flagrant-one, and KAT made both freebies.

Plenty of time remained, but Detroit was coming unglued. Reed collected his fifth foul, Collins caught his second, Cunningham missed twice at the stripe, and Motown trailed by 18. The lead wasn’t just New York’s biggest of the night, but of the season. And for the first time this season, we saw the throttling effort that won a championship. They limited Detroit to six points through the first seven minutes of the half. Shamet’s corner dagger and free throws by Brunson inflated the advantage to 23. After an ugly final sequence, Josh Hart took his first shot of the night, a buzzer-beater three to close the period, 88-63.

Josh Hart! A 37-point 3rd quarter for the Knicks! pic.twitter.com/ocXGeZLXWk

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 28, 2026

New York went up by 27 in the fourth. It was a blast. Tyler Kolek got to play again with Jose Alvarado out and showed a little Grand Theft action of his own:

Steve Nash plays for the Knicks pic.twitter.com/AL7WXPQbeG

— The Knicks Wall (@TheKnicksWall) October 28, 2026

I always thought Coach Bickerstaff had some Thibodeau in him. So I scratched my head when, with eight minutes left and the deficit a not-out-of-reach 21, J.B. emptied his bench. The Pistons and Knicks were both playing the first game of a back-to-back, and the veteran coach seemed content to rest his guys to fight again tomorrow.

Mike Brown was less confident in the outcome and still had three starters on the floor midway through the quarter, with the lead at 18. Then 17. Bridges passed the ball behind Hart’s back, and Detroit capitalized on the gift with a layup. Brown needed a timeout at 5:24 with the score 99-84. During the timeout, Bickerstaff reconsidered his position. Smelling blood, he sent Thompson, Cunningham, Robinson, and Reed back in. The latter scored on a layup to cut the lead to 13.

Brunson and Cunningham traded buckets. Thompson got dinged for goaltending when he held the rim to avoid crashing into Anunoby, who was staring up at the iron and angling to shoot. OG made both. Robinson responded with a triple and a layup, and the difference was 13 with three minutes left. An OG turnover became a Holland dunk—an 11-point difference. They needed a score to keep the noose loose, and Hart drilled his second shot of the night for his second three. That sealed it for Bickerstaff, who gestured for his subs again. Soon after, the Knicks starters finally got to exit, too, and received an ovation for their second win of the campaign.

Up Next

Mo’s applying a layer of frosting on his recap. Our heroes travel to Chicago for a game tomorrow night. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

Ausar Thompson returned from his one-game absence with a rolled ankle, but Isaiah Joe’s bruised rear end needed more rest. They needed Joe’s shooting as Detroit struggled mightily after the first quarter and would go on to lose to the Knicks tonight.

Things started great for Detroit in the first quarter. It turned into an early block party with six total blocks in the quarter for the Pistons. Paul Reed had 13 points and Cade added nine points to go along with six assists. Detroit held a 38-25 lead after the first, but that was pretty much the end of their efficient offense.

The Pistons managed to shoot just 3-for-21 in the second quarter. They were outscored by 14 by the Knicks, and New York took a 51-50 lead heading into halftime. Reed and Cunningham combined for 31 points and 13 rebounds.

Things got worse in the third as Paul Reed picked up an early 5th foul, and John Collins’ head bounced off the hardwood after wrestling for a rebound with Karl-Anthony Towns. By the end of the third, Detroit was down 25 points as the Knicks held an 88-63 lead. If you combine the scoring of the two middle quarters, Detroit was outscored 63-25.

The Pistons did their best to claw back in the final frame, but the 25-point deficit was too big. They were able to make it an 11-point game with two-and-a-half minutes left, but the Knicks would hold on to win 111-97.

Cunningham almost had a triple-double with 19 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. Reed finished with a team-high 22 points and nine rebounds. Detroit shot 42% from the field and 24% from three. Duncan Robinson, Javonte Green, and Daniss Jenkins combined to shoot 4-for-22 from deep. It just wasn’t Detroit’s night.

Let me end with this: it is absolutely miserable to watch Jalen Brunson play basketball. He loves to initiate contact, flop his head back, then fall to the floor in hopes of a whistle. Embarrassingly enough for the refs, they keep falling for it, too. He’s the smallest guy on the court who plays to find a whistle instead of trying to find a bucket.

JALEN BRUNSON TONIGHT 🔥

5-for-18 FROM THE FIELD
0-for-5 FROM DEEP
0 STEALS
0 BLOCKS
GAME-HIGH 32 FLOPS

BEST. IN. THE. LEAGUE. pic.twitter.com/y9dTbO3h8b

— Robbie Bettelon (@RobbieBettelon) October 28, 2026

If Cade is an ethical hooper, Brunson is as unethical as it gets. Brunson shot 5-for-18 from the field and 0-for-5 from deep, but he attempted a game-high 16 (!!!) free throws to still finish with 23 points. Nobody on the Knicks shot more than four, and nobody on Detroit shot more than five.

Here’s a flopping highlight reel just from tonight:

Jalen Brunson foul baited from the 3-point line and landed at the free throw line 😭 pic.twitter.com/pW67gI1bzR

— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) October 28, 2026

Yes, I am salty.

The Pistons will fly back to Detroit tonight as they’ll have their first back-to-back of the season when they host the Charlotte Hornets tomorrow night.

Go Stones.

After opening the season 0-3, the Knicks finally resembled their championship selves Tuesday night, downing the Detroit Pistons, who had been the last remaining undefeated team in the Eastern Conference, 111-97.

Here are the takeaways...

-- New York faced a shorthanded Pistons team that found itself without mammoth center Jalen Duren and newly-acquired veteran guard Isaiah Joe, leaving Cade Cunningham and swingman Ausar Thompson — who returned to the court after missing Sunday's game due to a sprained ankle —to shoulder most of the offensive weight against a nearly completely healthy Knicks squad eyeing their first win of the season. 

New York was missing just bench point guard Jose Alvarado, whose sprained ankle sidelined him for a second-straight contest. 

-- The Knicks went up early thanks to a pair of two-pointers from Karl-Anthony Towns and Og Anunoby in the first 90 seconds of the game, but Detroit caught up quickly on two free throws and a bucket, all courtesy of Paul Reed. After a Pistons timeout with 7:05 to go in the frame, Detroit went on an unanswered 7-0 run to take a 15-11 lead, driven by five points and an assist from Cunningham. A Landry Shamet three narrowed the gap, but the Pistons stayed two or more possessions ahead through the remainder of the quarter as New York's transition defense allowed another lengthy run from Detroit down the stretch (10-2).

Through the first 12 minutes of play, Shamet (8 minutes) was minus-16, Towns (10 minutes) was minus-14, and Brunson (11 minutes) was minus-10. 

-- The Knicks continued to fall behind, dropping to a 12-point deficit (42-30) midway through the second. After Brunson launched a 25-foot three-point jumper and missed, Andre Drummond leapt up and caught the rebound as it bounced off the rim, slamming the ball into the net to put the Knicks back within two possessions. Seemingly revitalized by Drummond's dunk, the Knicks' defense kicked back into gear, holding Detroit to just one point for over four-and-a-half minutes of play. 

A Mikal Bridges basket from beyond the arc — his third of both the game and the season — gave the Knicks a narrow one-point lead, but Cunningham knotted the score at 46 with a shot from the charity stripe. The rivals then traded buckets as the final two minutes wound down, but three made free throws by Brunson in the final 31 seconds gave the Knicks a narrow 51-50 edge as they headed into halftime. They performed better on both ends of the court in the second frame, outscoring the Pistons 26-12.

-- Bridges, who had scored 10 total points through the first three games of the season, tallied nine in the first half alone Tuesday night. As a team, the Knicks shot 93 percent from the free-throw line in the same span, compared to Detroit's 73 percent. 

-- New York's offense finally found a real groove after the break. Brunson and Josh Hart combined for a 7-0 Knicks run to open the third, marking the largest lead New York held up to that point in the game. Hart assisted a Towns layup early before Brunson nailed both two-pointers, one of which came on a defensive rebound from Hart. Anunoby then stole the ball twice, first finding Hart — who passed to Bridges for his fourth three of the night — then Brunson, whose two-pointer increased the New York lead to 12 (62-50). Detroit got a couple points back, but a flagrant foul from Reed on Towns allowed the Knicks a free chance to widen the gap back to 12.

The quarter continued as such: Detroit regains a few, New York goes back up. By the end, the Knicks were up 88-63, punctuated by a beyond-the-arc jumper at the buzzer from Hart. 

-- Detroit's 12-point second quarter and 13-point third were the team's lowest marks so far this campaign and were lower than any quarter in any game they played last year.

-- New York's dominance continued in the final quarter even as the Pistons chipped away at the deficit. Three minutes in, Detroit's Thompson attempted to pull the ball up the court but lost control. Knicks bench point guard Tyler Kolek seized the opportunity, stealing the ball and passing it behind his back to an undefended Towns, who dunked it in. Towns followed the trick play up with back-to-back bad pass turnovers, leading to a Knicks timeout, after which Drummond and Thompson traded points for their respective teams. 

With 1:13 left to play and the Knicks ahead 109-97, New York's starters left the court. Kolek landed two free throws, bringing the final score to 111-97.

-- The Knicks had the Pistons beat in nearly every category, shooting 33 percent from three and 82 percent from the free-throw line, while the Pistons shot 24 percent and 58 percent, respectively. New York also had 49 rebounds to Detroit's 45, 28 assists to Detroit's 23, and 10 steals to Detroit's 8. Both teams went 43 percent from the field.

Notably, though, the Knicks had a whopping 18 turnovers. Detroit recorded 14.

-- Against his first-ever team, Drummond went 5-for-7 from the field, posting 10 points and 8 rebounds in 14 minutes of play. 

Game MVP: Karl-Anthony Towns

The 30-year-old notched his fourth-straight double-double, posting a game-leading 27 points and 20 rebounds across 33 minutes. No one else on either team had more than 23 points (Brunson) or nine rebounds.

Highlights

OG Anunoby throws it down https://t.co/DYznIWvR7Q

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 28, 2026

Mikal Bridges’ first three-pointer of the season https://t.co/ZHkdtW7oHC

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 28, 2026

Andre Drummond putback slam https://t.co/jMN78rnh9g

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 28, 2026

Jalen Brunson gets it going out of the halftime break https://t.co/zNM180oPrt

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 28, 2026

KAT gets tangled with Paul Reed https://t.co/A6NvVBwm2k

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 28, 2026

KAT throws it down! https://t.co/r1vdIws5qO

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 28, 2026

Josh Hart! A 37-point 3rd quarter for the Knicks! https://t.co/ocXGeZLXWk

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 28, 2026

TYLER KOLEK BEHIND THE BACK PASS! https://t.co/fyBK8WVtQn

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 28, 2026

Fourth quarter Jalen Brunson. https://t.co/ypLBQJ3x2S

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 28, 2026

What's next

The Knicks will begin their first two-game road trip of the season in Chicago Wednesday night. Tip-off against the Bulls is scheduled for 8 p.m.

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum buried a 17-foot jumper at the overtime buzzer to cap a 40-point night, and the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 125-124 on Tuesday night for their third straight victory.

Tatum finished 10 of 20 from the field and 18 of 22 from the free-throw line. Paul George added 20 points and Derrick White scored 16 for the Celtics, who have not lost since they blew a 22-point lead in their season opener at Detroit.

Michael Porter Jr. had 27 points and 12 rebounds for Brooklyn (0-4), and Julius Randle scored 24 points.

Nets rookie Mikel Brown Jr. made a tying 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds remaining in regulation. But in OT, he missed a layup with 2.3 seconds left to set up Tatum for the winning basket. Brown, the sixth pick in the NBA draft out of Louisville, finished with 17 points.

Boston's Mitchell Robinson missed two free throws with 3 seconds left in regulation, giving Brooklyn a chance at the tying 3. Robinson, a career 50.7% free-throw shooter, went 1 of 4 from the line and is 2 of 8 this season.

With 33.7 seconds remaining in regulation, White slipped behind the defense and Tatum found him for a tiebreaking dunk. White was fouled on the play and converted the free throw for a 114-111 lead.

Neither team led by more than eight points. The Nets went ahead 109-104 on a basket by Randle with 2:57 left before the Celtics rallied.

The Celtics made 2 of 16 3-point attempts in the first half but trailed just 61-56. They fared a bit better from long range in the second half, going 9 of 22.

Up next

Nets: Host Detroit on Friday night.

Celtics: Host Chicago on Friday night.

Highlights

Mikel Brown Jr.! https://t.co/LMtk4qrtVN

— SNY Nets (@SNYNets) October 28, 2026

MIKEL BROWN JR. SENDS THE NETS TO OVERTIME IN BOSTON! https://t.co/eaKlm1ttGA

— SNY Nets (@SNYNets) October 28, 2026

Mikel Brown Jr. remains on fire! https://t.co/gDa0Pm04pi

— SNY Nets (@SNYNets) October 28, 2026

Mikel Brown Jr. opted to go for the layup with the Nets up 1 with 6.1 remaining in OT and missed. Jayson Tatum hit a buzzer beater on the next possession for a Boston victory. The Nets are 0-4 to start the season. https://t.co/xPLAJajQYp

— SNY Nets (@SNYNets) October 28, 2026

The Oklahoma City Thunder (4-0) are the established Western Conference power with 132 combined regular-season wins to their credit over the last two seasons, functional depth all over their roster and a championship banner hung up in the Paycom Center to show for it. The Dallas Mavericks (2-2) and their fans are just happy to be taking the first few baby steps in a positive direction after two seasons in decline.

But Wednesday’s meeting between the erstwhile rivals at American Airlines Center takes on new layers of intrigue after news of two long-term injuries to key pieces in the Oklahoma City rotation and the Mavericks’ newfound penchant for punching above their weight to start the 2026-27 campaign. Tipoff between the Mavs and the Thunder is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

The Thunder own a decided advantage over the home team in both recent results and proven talent throughout the roster, even after the injury prognoses recently announced for both Cason Wallace (torn labrum) and Jalen Williams (broken ankle). OKC beat the Mavericks in all three of the teams’ meetings a year ago, after Dallas played the role of thorn in big brother’s side in 2024-25. The Mavs won three of four against the Thunder that year, but it didn’t stop Oklahoma City from marching to a title, while the Mavs labored in the morass of the Great NBA Middle.

Here are three points of interest in preparation for what could be a closer game than you think to start the I-35 series this season.

No apologies for injury luck

The Mavericks are absolutely catching the Thunder at the right time on Wednesday. Not only are Wallace and Williams on the shelf indefinitely, potentially the entire season in both cases, but big thin man Chet Holmgren and versatile guard Alex Caruso are also listed as out on the Thunder’s latest injury report. Holmgren is day-to-day with patellar tendonitis, and Caruso is dealing with a right ankle sprain. Hey, at least it’s not broken.

Their absence means Oklahoma City will have to lean more on Isaiah Hartenstein, Jaylin Williams, Kenrich Williams and rookie Aday Mara, who was a college teammate of Mavs rookie forward Morez Johnson Jr. at Michigan a year ago. Oh, and all-everything man and former league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, of course.

How much of an opening do the four injury absences create for these Little Mavericks That Could? If Dallas can frustrate Gilgeous-Alexander for more than a quarter, they have enough ammo for another uphill battle. You can squint and see the Mavericks at very least hanging around and making this a game.

For Dallas’ part, Naji Marshall, who missed Monday’s game at Miami with an illness, has been upgraded to questionable, but backup guard Sergio de Larrea is listed as out for the Thunder matchup with a right knee sprain. Kyrie Irving is back on the injury report as well, listed as questionable under the “injury management” heading.

SGA free-throw rate

Let’s dive a little deeper into one stat typified by Gilgeous-Alexander in particular. Last year, he got to the line nine times per game. Much has been made of the fact that through just four games this year, his free-throw rate has so far been cut in half. He’s shot just 18 free throws through the first four games of the year.

Many have inferred that one of the NBA officials’ infamous points of emphasis this year is the culprit. Yea, that pesky “off-arm push-offs” one. Gilgeous-Alexander has, through much of his rise to power in the Association, enjoyed a reputation for being something of a “foul-baiter.” Whether it’s the new and improved stance on off-arm push-offs or mere happenstance, he’s not getting the whistle he has grown accustomed to, albeit in a very short sample size so far this year.

It hasn’t affected Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring average much, if at all. He’s averaging better than 27 points per game through the first four, and his 3-point percentage (28.6%) may have as much or more to do with that as his free-throw rate. Nevertheless, it’s something to keep an eye on. It’s one of those things that will probably even out as the season progresses, but while his whistle may not hold as much influence over the proceedings in this particular game, the Mavericks will endeavor to make themselves the beneficiaries of such things on Wednesday.

“We brought bodies”

Zaccharie Risacher with the clutch block on Davion Mitchell quick layup attempt, P.J. Washington strips the rebound away from Giannis and the Mavericks win in Miami.
The Heat go 0-4 to start the season.

pic.twitter.com/CSwF0SaCDI

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) October 27, 2026

“We brought bodies to him,” Mavericks head coach Dusty May said of Dallas’ efforts to frustrate another similarly gravitational superstar in the fourth quarter of Monday’s win at the Miami Heat.

It’s almost all you can do against someone as gifted as Gilgeous-Alexander or Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 29 points and recorded a triple-double for Miami in Monday’s 113-109 Mavericks’ win. Double-teams. Different defenders showing different looks. Hands in passing lanes. Bring the bodies. Anything to interrupt the superstar from gathering all the momentum.

If the Mavericks look up at the end of the night and Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 30 points, it’s not the end of the world. What will matter is that he had a hard time getting there — maybe he had to force the issue a little bit to get there. That’s what bringing the bodies does.

One body we’d definitely like to see thrown in Gilgeous-Alexander’s direction is Zaccharie Risacher’s. He had a tough shooting night at Miami on Monday, but that didn’t matter, because he was busy throughout his 30 minutes on the floor creating chaos on the defensive end. He got in passing lanes, bothered Miami up and down the roster and ended the night with three blocked shots and two steals.

The Spurs blew out the Kings in the first game of a back-to-back to get their second win of the season and get back to .500. Victor Wembanyama had 29 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks, while Julian Champagnie contributed 26 points off the bench.

An ideal start, with Wembanyama getting a couple of early dunks and Vassell an open three, foreshadowed how easy the game was going to be for the Spurs. The only thing that could keep the Silver and Black from scoring was themselves, in the stretches in which they played too much one-on-one basketball in the half court. The Kings’ defense had no answers, as helping inside resulted in open threes and not helping meant allowing good shots at the rim, but credit should go to San Antonio for taking the game seriously and executing well while also guarding with intensity.

As the minutes went by, and despite Domantas Sabonis’ efforts to stop it (at least on offense), the eight-point lead the Spurs had at the end of the first quarter started to grow steadily. Wembanyama was getting whatever he wanted inside, and the outside looks were falling. The shorthanded Kings couldn’t put together enough good lineups when their main guys rested to score enough to offset their glaring deficiencies on the other end. At the break, San Antonio was up 26 points after dropping 80 in total, and the game was effectively over.

The only thing left to be decided was whether the Spurs would be able to avoid a slump that forced Mitch Johnson to play his starters more than he wanted in the first game of a back-to-back. The answer was a resounding “yes,” as San Antonio kept playing hard and scoring at will. The Kings looked defeated, and while Zach LaVine poured in some tough buckets to make up for Sabonis slowing down on the offensive end, at no point did they look like a real threat. After three, the lead was 27.

The fourth quarter was garbage time. Only Dylan Harper played more than 30 minutes for San Antonio, which got to empty its bench early while securing an easy home win.

Observations:

• The Kings, missing several frontcourt players, simply have too many bad defenders to make any coverage work. The zone was a mess. Their switching was sloppy. The rotations were slow. They don’t have the rim protection to make the drop in the pick-and-roll work. Even some lineups that shouldn’t have worked on offense for the Spurs were able to put points on the board. The talent gap was just gigantic.
• Julian Champagnie made eight threes in the first half. His only misses were airballs. The “Champagnie has the hot hand” experience is amazing in part because it tends to feature some hilarious moments in which he gets so confident that he lets it fly, you think it’s going in, and it’s not even close. Then the next time around you prepare for a miss, and he swishes a tough look. He’s been such a fantastic find for the Spurs.
• Are the Spurs winning more challenges than in past years? It feels that way, and the broadcast made it a point to highlight the two successful ones from this game, so there’s probably some numbers to back it up. Every little thing helps, so if they have become better at challenging calls, that’s great.
• At the end of the third, when the rotation guys were on the floor, the Spurs’ bench was outscoring the Kings’ 30 to five. Even taking away Champagnie’s 24 points, they would have been up in that category. Sacramento is bad, but missing some important guys makes them awful.
• Devin Vassell finished with eight assists, the highest total in a game for him since the 2023/24 season. In the previous game, he had six helpers. Vassell has been adding to his game since he was drafted. Maybe this is the year he becomes a great passer for someone whose main role is to shoot.
• Kings rookie Darius Acuff Jr. is an exciting player taking full advantage of the bright green light he has in Sacramento. It took him 20 shots, but he finished with 19 points and five assists.
• It’s hard to take much away from games that are so lopsided, but it was good to see the Spurs play with effort and purpose even when up big. Hopefully that mindset will become a staple of the team this season.

---

For the opponent’s perspective, visit The Kings’ Herald.

The Spurs will fly to Utah to face the Jazz on Wednesday in the second game of a back-to-back. Utah will be without Jaren Jackson Jr., who is expected to miss up to eight weeks with an injury. It’s a good opportunity for San Antonio to secure a winning record for the first time this season.

The 0-3 Brooklyn Nets came to Boston Tuesday night to face the Celtics on the second night of a back-to-back. The scrappy Nets came to play in this game as they forced overtime on the final play of regulation. They outplayed the Celtics for large stretches of rregulation and overtime but Jayson Tatum was the hero in the final second of the game.

Boston survived a big scare at home, to hang on in a tight overtime win that went down to wire, 125-124. Boston was paced by Jayson Tatum who had 40 points and 8 assists, Paul George had 20 points and Derrick White had 16 points.

Boston started the game with its regular lineup of Jordan Walsh, Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, Paul George, and Mitchell Robinson, who currently have the 2nd-best net rating in the NBA. For the Nets, they started with Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Michael Porter Jr., Julius Randle, and Day’ron Sharpe.

Both teams traded buckets to start the game as the scores were tied 4-4 before Michael Porter Jr. splashed a triple with Jordan Walsh draped all over him. Mitchell Robinson snagged a steal on an attempted lob pass and went down the other end, grabbing an offensive rebound for the putback deuce.

Boston started the slower of the two teams, shooting just 4-11 from the field after a scoring barrage last night.

Payton Pritchard scored his first points of the game midway through the first quarter as he checked in for a scoreless Derrick White at the point. A few plays later, Pritchard took on Michael Porter Jr. in a switch driving into the lane for the layup, scores tied at 20.

Jayson Tatum got downhill and skied a lob to Neemias Queta, who got the easy score at the two-minute mark, with Tatum with 3 early assists in the game.

Former Celtic Mo Wagner was beasting the C’s interior; his energetic play propelled the visitors into the lead with six quick points in six minutes. The feisty Nets up by 5 points after 12 minutes of play, scoring 26-31.

Derrick White finally got on the scoreboard to start the second quarter with a cutting layup, with Payton Pritchard with the dime. The Nets were the more aggressive team to start the second quarter and took an eight-point advantage at the nine-minute mark. Noah Clowney and Mitchell Robinson needed to be separated as things were getting chippy in the second.

Paul George was struggling to get into the game as he had two turnovers and two fouls in his first nine minutes of game action. He finally hit a fade away for his 4th point of the game, as Mazzulla was encouraging his squad to play with more effort from the sideline.

Jayson Tatum returned to the game and immediately drove into the lane to score on an aggressive drive. On the next play, JT got the ball and attacked the mismatch, getting fouled on the play; he made both free throws as scores were once again tied at 45.

Boston was struggling from the three-point line in the first half; they were just 2-16 from downtown after they poured in the points last night. Tatum was the best player on the floor for Boston as he poured in 15 points and 4 assists in the half.

Queta was whistled for his fourth foul before the half and took a seat, as it was a heavy first half. Despite all the fouls, the reach-ins, the flopping, and the chippy nature of the game, things were competitive after two quarters. Brooklyn took a 5-point lead at the half.

Paul George finally hit Boston’s third three-pointer of the game to start the second half, his ninth point of the game. Walsh and Tatum also connected from downtown as Boston came out of the half time break looking to get more shot attempts from three.

Jordan Walsh drilled his second straight triple from the corner in front of the Nets bench, Boston down by one point. Julius Randle was excellent for Brooklyn on both ends, he had 7 points in the third quarter after just six minutes of play before heading to the visitors bench.

Boston’s continued to struggle shooting the three late into the third, they would go 6-26 before Sam Hauser hit his first triple of the night to get the crowd up and back into the game. Baylor Scheireman had the high catch and release three-pointer from the corner to cut the scores back to just one point, 78-79.

Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser both hit deep three-pointers as the crowd erupted to finish off the third quarter, the Boston faithful back into the game, 86-82. The Celtics outscored the Nets in the third, highlighted by a 16-5 run to finish off the quarter with eight three-pointers in total.

Scheierman, White, Queta, George and Hauser opened things for Boston in the fourth. Derrick White dribbled into the key and stuck the two pointer to start, Boston up by 8 points. The Nets came racing back into itcutting it back to 2 points.

Baylor Scheierman grabbed an offensive rebound and pushed the pace, he twisted in mid air and made a terrific pass to Paul George who skipped it over to Sam Hauser for the open three-pointer.

Michael Porter Jr. hit a pair of threes for Brooklyn, as the Nets were staying close. That forced Joe Mazzulla to go back to Jayson Tatum for the close out.

Mikel Brown Jr. hit the visiting teams thirteenth triple as they retook the lead. Jayson Tatum was fouled by Chaney Johnson and hit a pair of free throes to tie the game once more, 99-99.

Tatum went to the line for his 18th free throw of the game, Hauser banked home a jumper, the scores were tied at 104. Brooklyn were 50% from the field and 40% from three, with 3 minutes to go in the game as they had a slim lead. The Celtics were in the bonus to finish off the game, Derrick White hit a pair to give Boston a two point lead, 111-109.

Mitchell Robinson had a chance to ice the game but missed two free throws with 3 seconds to go. Brooklyn had a final chance to force OT and Mikel Brown Jr. made a corner fade away.

Julius Randle scored the first four points in overtime, with Paul George and Derrick White on the bench. They returned to action with 3 minutes to go. Mikel Brown Jr. drilled another three-pointer in overtime as the Celtics were up against it. Jayson Tatum drilled a foul line two-pointer for the big win in the final second of overtime that wasn’t pretty.

Boston next host the Chicago Bulls for the second time in a week for the NBA Cup, game 1 of East group C, on Friday night at 7:30 pm EST.

When Klay Thompson was still with the Golden State Warriors, he had a tradition for every time a teammate went up against their former teams. As the team met to prepare for the opponent, Thompson would single them out and shout, “They didn’t want you!”

It didn’t matter how long it had been since the player left the team, the circumstances of their departures, or whether there was any actual animosity. Zaza Pachulia facing the Milwaukee Bucks three years after they traded him to the Dallas Mavericks? “They didn’t want you!” Andre Iguodala playing the Philadelphia 76ers, nine years after they traded him, having played on three teams in the interim? “They didn’t want to!”

Reportedly, Thompson tried to get assistant coach Mike Brown fired up to face the Denver Nuggets, over two decades after Brown left his job as video coordinator for the team.

“They didn’t want you!” may be what’s echoing through the head of Jonathan Kuminga as he prepares to face the Warriors for the first time as a Minnesota Timberwolf. Thompson may have used hyperbole in his motivating efforts, but Kuminga can quite confidently believe that the Warriors certainly did not want him, after five up-and-down seasons since he was the 7th pick in the 2021 NBA draft culminated in a trade for center/future medical case study Kristaps Porzingis.

Kuminga faced the Warriors in March as a member of the Atlanta Hawks, shooting 1-for-9 and logging two points, four rebounds, and two assists in a 126-110 Hawks win. It wasn’t the strongest Warriors squad, considering that Jeenathan Williams played over 28 minutes in the game. (Williams is now employed in the Japanese B League, as is Forever Warriors Eric Paschall.)

There’s no reason to re-litigate Kuminga’s time with the Warriors. Interested readers can look at probably 100 articles and 10,000 comments if they want to go through it again. But it’s clear that Kuminga, who signed a prove-it contract with Minnesota late in the summer, believes he had more to offer than the Warriors let him show.

He’s on a one-year deal for $6.1M, with a player option for next season. Kuminga is averaging 11.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 29.8 minutes per game as the Wolves’ starting power forward. He’s gone 7-for-15 on three-pointers, nabbed two steals per game, and turned the ball over only once in four games as Minnesota began the season with three blowout wins and a two-point overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night.

They also lost Anthony Edwards in that contest. Edwards out up 47 points in 41 minutes, then he and the team decided his balky right knee needed arthroscopic surgery.

Just in: Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his ailing right knee and miss up to two months, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/HenrAY2APs

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 27, 2026

The All-Star guard and his 33.3 points per game will be out until December, meaning that someone needs to pick up the scoring slack. The most likely candidates are Ayo Dosunmu, who’s likely to join the starting lineup in place of Edwards, and one Jonathan Malangu Kuminga.

Edwards is averaging 26 field goal attempts this season, launching a staggering 11.3 threes per game. Kuminga isn’t going to match that outside shooting, but what he can do is provide at least a facsimile of Edwards’ unrelenting rim pressure. And he’ll never be more motivated to step into that kind of scoring role than he will when facing his former team and Steve Kerr, the coach he could never quite win over.

The drama only becomes more intense when you consider Kuminga’s primary defender might well be Yaxel Lendeborg, another Warriors lottery pick who almost instantly joined the rotation. Lendeborg is already rebounding, passing, and doing the little things Kuminga never quite mastered in five seasons with the Dubs — while also putting up points.

As for Lendeborg, he’ll have to wait until Nov. 18 when the Warriors visit the Dallas Mavericks for his own “They didn’t want you!” moment. Even though he’s a rookie, Yaxel can still get motivated after his old college coach, Dusty May, drafted Michigan teammate over him with the No. 9 pick.

And look out for a fired-up LaMelo Ball as well. Joe Lacob didn’t want you! And he deeply regrets it!

While Matisse Thybulle was playing for the Trail Blazers — the same team the Lakers hosted Tuesday night — he knew he needed to make a change to his shot. 

The results have not only led to a strong shooting stretch to kick off his tenure as a Laker but also a unique pregame shooting routine that’s paying off.

The eighth-year wing out of Washington has a unique twist to his pregame shooting routine: Thybulle cycles in “no-dip” 3s (when a player catches the pass and immediately shoots it from their chest or above their head without dropping the ball down around their waist) and one-handed 3s.

The origins of the No. 20 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft incorporating unorthodox shooting into his routine stems from working with Trail Blazers shooting coach John Townsend during 2024-25 as he was rehabbing from a preseason right knee surgery and sprained right ankle that sidelined him for the first 67 games that season.

“My shot has never been something I was confident in,” Thybulle told the California Post on Tuesday. “It was always an insecurity of mine.”

The most significant changes that were made to his shot: moving Thybulle’s right (shooting) arm more to the side and keeping his elbow more tucked in.

Townsend had Thybulle go through “platform shooting” to accommodate him not being able to always jump as he rehabbed from the lower-body ailments.

“And then I started to notice some differences,” Thybulle told The Post. “I was probably like a month out of being able to play again. And he’s like, ‘Well, you kind of have to decide now: Do you want to change your shot and stick to it and you can’t go back? Or keep shooting the way you’ve been shooting?’

“I was like, ‘But I want to change it.’ So then we just decided to just stick with the changes that we were doing, trust the work and not really worry too much about the results for a little bit.”

The changes yielded positive results.

After shooting 34.6% on 3s in 2023-24, Thybulle shot 43.8% from deep across 15 regular-season games in 2024-25 (albeit on small volume — 21 of 48) and 39.8% in 30 games in 2025-26 (37 of 93).

He entered Tuesday shooting 46.7% on 3s (7 of 15).

“So far,” Thybulle told The Post, “it’s worked out.”

The reason he incorporates the no-dip and one-handed 3s into his pregame routine is because it helps him maintain his shooting form. 

“It was a huge foundational piece of just having my hand under the ball next to my head and then shooting through it,” Thybulle said. “And it became something that we would go back to a lot if my shot started to float around or I wasn’t shooting the way I wanted to. And then it just became a thing of like, well, ‘Am I confident enough to shoot that in a game? Do I trust myself to shoot it?’”

The answer is yes, with Thybulle saying he took a “couple” of no-dip 3s with the Blazers last season.

He made his first no-dip 3 with the Lakers in the preseason during the Oct. 8 home win over the Kings. 

And he made his first of the regular season during the third quarter of Sunday’s road win over the Jazz.

“Having done it, I had gotten so many reps of it,” Thybulle told The Post, “I got pretty confident in that being a good shot.”

Thybulle’s taken enough no-dip 3s that he doesn’t consider it a unique shot.

“That’s just a part of my shot archetype and shot package,” he told The Post. “I actually prefer it at times.”

Thybulle added: “There’s less variables. When you catch a no-dip shot, you’re under the ball, you have to fully extend. Whereas when you catch a regular pass, dip the ball down sometimes, you catch it across your body, you bring it over. Gotta make sure your legs are under you. There’s just more pieces to it. Luka [Doncic] and [Austin Reaves] throw such good passes that if I put my hands up, I’m literally catching it in my shooting pocket and I can just finish it through.”  

Even though he doesn’t shoot the one-handed 3s in games, it’s also an important part of staying true to his modified shooting form.

“A bad habit I have in mind is my elbow gets out from underneath the ball,” Thybulle told The Post. “If you try to do that with one hand, you’re going to drop the ball. You can’t hold it. So it really forces you to be underneath the basketball. And then, you bring another hand and the carryover is really helpful.”

For Thybulle, the unconventional forms are all about “laying the foundation” for his shot: physically and mentally.

“It takes a level of confidence and not caring to shoot those shots in public,” he told The Post. “Because I’ll shoot one-handed shots to this day and just airball them. It’s the reason people shoot with two hands — it’s a hard shot. 

“For me, the willingness to shoot through those embarrassing moments and trust that this is something that helps me and can guide me to the way I want to shoot, that to me, more than anything … one part physical, another part mental. Just like getting that voice in your head that tells you like shoot the regular way so that you can make it. ‘Cause if you do it this way, you might miss and it’s going to be embarrassing. Just like free yourself of that and just like trust the process.”

The Washington Wizards play the Cleveland Cavaliers tomorrow night. Let’s preview this one.

Game Info

When: Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Rocket Arena

How to watch: Monumental Sports Network

Injury Report

Wizards: Jamir Watkins and Tristan Vukcevic are out. AJ Dybantsa is questionable

Cavaliers: None

What to watch for

Washington is looking to get back above .500 after their loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Cleveland defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves, 127-125 yesterday in overtime at home. The Cavaliers will be tough for Washington to beat, but I’m looking forward to seeing the Trae Young vs. Donovan Mitchell battle. Go Wiz!