Good morning, it’s Friday, January 23rd. The Cleveland Cavaliers are 25-20 and play the Sacramento Kings tonight at home.
This is Cleveland’s first game against the Kings this season. Surprisingly, the Cavs went 0-2 against Sacramento last year, making them one of the only teams to sweep the Cavs last season. The Kings are currently 14th in the Western Conference with a 12-33 record.
Today’s Game of the Day
Houston Rockets at Detroit Pistons – 7 PM, Prime Video, AT&T SportsNet Southwest
The Detroit Pistons have taken a 5.5 game lead over the rest of the Eastern Conference, sitting at 32-10 behind a breakout season. They’ve gone 17-4 at home this season and have won eight of their last 10 games.
Meanwhile, Houston is fourth in the Western Conference and is only half a game outside of seventh place. Every game matters in the West — and the Rockets will need to pick up a difficult win on the road to stay above water. They recently beat the San Antonio Spurs 111-106 behind 21 points from Reed Sheppard in a comeback victory.
The Rest of the NBA Slate
Sacramento Kings at Cleveland Cavaliers – 7:30 PM
Boston Celtics at Brooklyn Nets – 7:30 PM
Phoenix Suns at Atlanta Hawks – 7:30 PM
New Orleans Pelicans at Memphis Grizzlies – 8 PM
Indiana Pacers at Oklahoma City Thunder – 8 PM
Denver Nuggets at Milwaukee Bucks – 9:30 PM
Toronto Raptors at Portland Trail Blazers – 10 PM
The Nets just lost to the Knicks 120-66, in case you’re interested in watching how they respond to playing one of the worst games in modern NBA history.
Desmond Bane featured in the Orlando Magic's NBA Global Game double-header against the Memphis Grizzlies in Berlin and London [Getty Images]
Nigeria's hopes of Olympic basketball success could receive a boost, with Orlando Magic's Desmond Bane saying he wants to "make something happen" and recruit fellow NBA stars to D'Tigers' cause.
Bane is officially listed as American by the NBA but has Nigerian heritage and is yet to represent any nation on the international stage.
Having qualified for their first Olympics at London 2012, Nigeria's basketball team went on to also compete at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, but missed out on the 2024 Games in Paris.
"I would for sure," said the shooting guard when asked about the possibility of answering the call if it came.
"We just need to get all the Nigerians together for the Olympics coming up in the next couple years and make something happen."
Houston Rockets guard Josh Okogie, who was born in Lagos but raised in the USA, is already a Nigeria international, but Bane says he has had conversations with other players about joining up.
"I'd talk to Aaron Nesmith (Indiana Pacers)," the 27-year-old told BBC Sport. "Me and Gabe Vincent (Los Angeles Lakers) also talked about it a little bit. We need to do it."
Forwards Precious Achiuwa and Adem Bona of the Sacramento Kings and Philadelphia 76ers respectively are also Nigerian-listed NBA players.
Currently ranked 50th in governing body Fiba's world rankings, Nigeria have dropped to 7th among African nations.
And D'Tigers are far from certain to reach the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Their first chance could come through the 2027 Fiba World Cup in Qatar, where they would have to finish as the highest-ranked of the five African nations who will compete.
But they will have to qualify first, and currently sit third in their first round group behind Guinea and Tunisia.
There will also be a separate African Olympic qualification competition featuring six nations, with the winner booking a spot in LA.
Bane has just finished taking part in this year's NBA Global Games, with Orlando beating the Memphis Grizzlies in Berlin before losing the return fixture in London.
Speaking in Germany, NBA commissioner Adam Silver again talked up the possibility of a new European continental league, to add to the Basketball Africa League which has been running since 2021 and is also backed by the NBA.
Bane is impressed by the growing global impact and talent pool.
"I think it's great. You hear about NBA Europe and talking about Nigeria, there's so many talented players everywhere."
Buss family drama is not new to the Lakers or their fanbase. From the moment team governor Jeanie removed her brother, Jim, from his front office role, the Lakers have, at times, resembled a soap opera more than a basketball team.
However, that has often existed in a vacuum, existing alongside the on-court Lakers and rarely overlapping. That is until Wednesday when, in Baxter Holmes of ESPN’s piece on Jeanie and the Buss family, LeBron James was pulled into the mix.
The story described a seemingly deteriorating relationship between Jeanie and LeBron since the 2020 title. The culmination of sorts came when Jeanie reportedly considered trading LeBron in 2022.
In the aftermath of the story, Jeanie released a statement pushing back on the idea that she has not appreciated LeBron while also, more hilariously, saying not to drag him into the family’s drama.
In a lengthy response, LeBron spoke about not caring about stories and reports and discussed his motivations for coming to the organization, which was also a topic in Holmes’ piece.
“At the end of the day,” LeBron said, “when I came to this organization, my whole mindset was about restoring excellence and the things I seen growing up with the Lakers. Obviously, I didn’t get an opportunity to watch Showtime, but I know the history. Then, in the early 2000s with Shaq and Kob’ and then what Kob’ did those couple runs with him and Pau, my whole mindset was ‘How can I get that feeling back to the Lakers organization.’
“When the Lakers and Knicks and Bulls and Celtics are good, it’s great. And I was able to do that along with 14, 16 other guys, winning a championship, bringing a championship. That’s always been my mind. Quite frankly, I don’t really care about articles. I don’t care about stories. I don’t care about podcasts and all that type of shit. It don’t bother me…If you know me personally, then you know what I’m about.”
He was also asked about his relationship with Jeanie directly and where he felt it stood in light of the reports.
“I thought it was good,” LeBron said. “But somebody can see it another way. There’s always two sides of the coin. At the end of the day, how I represented this franchise and what I wanted to do to represent this franchise when I got here until now is with the utmost respect and dignity and I would say loyalty.”
That’s not really a great statement, but it was also one delivered in a way that didn’t feel like a shot at Jeanie. Granted, that’s me reading into things and LeBron could have meant it some other kind of way. However, the whole tone of his interview was more dismissive of the whole story than passive-aggressive.
LeBron was pushed one more time after that response about his relationship with Jeanie and, specifically, if the two had been in contact since the story’s release.
“We never talk,” LeBron said. “It’s like me and Jeanie be on the phone talking. You guys ain’t ever heard a report about that. Don’t make something out of it that it’s not. It’s always been mutual, it’s always been respect, it’s always been a great partnership but it’s not like I call Jeanie on the phone. It’s not like I called [Heat owner] Micky Arison or [Cavaliers owner] Dan Gilbert on the phone.
“Come on guys. Don’t make this more than what it is. I don’t care.”
To my point above, this all felt like LeBron wanting to downplay the whole situation. Considering he easily could have made a much bigger deal about this if he wished, it does feel notable that he chose this path instead.
All that being said, it also likely wasn’t completely nothing to LeBron. It certainly adds another layer to LeBron’s impending free agency and whether this further signals the end of LeBron’s time in LA.
Because the Lakers can’t just be a normal franchise.
Lakers star LeBron James goes to huge then-Lakers majority owner Jeanie Buss after the Lakers' 2020 NBA championship win in Florida. (Douglas P. DeFelice / Getty Images)
LeBron James downplayed any suggestion of a rift between him and Lakers governor Jeanie Buss on Thursday following an ESPN report that detailed how the now-minority owner of the team had started to turn on the Lakers superstar.
“Quite frankly, I don't really get involved in that, or the reports, or whatever the case may be,” James said after the Lakers lost 112-104 to the Clippers at Intuit Dome.
The report detailed how years of in-fighting between the Buss siblings led to the family selling a majority stake of the team to Dodgers owner Mark Walter last year. As the franchise struggled to recapture the magic established under Jerry Buss, Jeanie had grown distant and resentful, the report said, that James didn’t take accountability for involvement with the decision to acquire Russell Westbrook in 2021. She reportedly floated the possibility of trading James to the Clippers in 2022 and didn’t believe James was grateful when the Lakers drafted Bronny James in 2024.
But LeBron James brushed it off.
“At the end of the day, when I came to this organization, my whole mindset was about restoring excellence,” James said. “The things that I seen growing up with the Lakers — obviously, I didn't get an opportunity to watch Showtime [era], but I know the history. Then the early 2000s with Shaq [O’Neal] and [Kobe Bryant], and then what Kob did and those couple runs with him and Pau [Gasol]. So my whole mindset was like, ‘How can I get that feeling back to the Lakers organization?’ … And then I was able to do that along with, you know, 14, 16, other guys winning the championship, bringing the championship here.”
The Lakers’ 2020 championship — in James’ second season with the team — helped the franchise tie rival Boston for the most championships in league history. But the Celtics have since pulled ahead with an 18th title.
The Lakers have won two playoff series in the five seasons since their last championship and have been eliminated in the first round in back-to-back seasons. They stunned the NBA by acquiring Luka Doncic in a midseason trade last season but are struggling to hang on in the competitive Western Conference. They have lost six of their last nine games.
Against the Clippers, the Lakers trailed by 26 points third third quarter before rallying. James scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and converted on a three-point play with 1:28 remaining to cut the Lakers' deficit to three points. But the Clippers, who have won 14 of their last 17 games starting with a win over the Lakers on Dec. 20, answered with a reverse dunk by Ivica Zubac and a dagger three-pointer from John Collins.
“LeBron, for what seems like the 20th straight game, just gave us — he emptied the tank and gave us everything he had,” coach JJ Redick said.
After he missed the first 14 games of the season because of sciatica, James is averaging 22.5 points, six rebounds and 6.9 assists per game. Since guard Austin Reaves re-injured his calf on Christmas Day, James has averaged 24.9 points and played more than 31 minutes in each of the 12 games, including playing two back-to-backs in a week.
The 41-year-old James has achieved some of the most significant milestones of his career with the Lakers. He became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in purple and gold. He is the first player to play 23 NBA seasons. Now in his eighth season with the Lakers, L.A. has been his continuous NBA home for longer than any other city, not counting the separate seven- and four-year stints he had in Cleveland.
When he came to the Lakers, James told Buss that he wanted to return the Lakers to glory, he recalled while accepting the NBA Finals most valuable player award in 2020. Buss, standing nearby in the socially distant trophy ceremony, smiled and clutched her hands to her chest when James brought up her father.
Lakers star LeBron James dunks over Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis on Jan. 9 at Crypto.com Arena. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
When asked Thursday of how he thought the partnership with Jeanie Buss has been, James said he thought "it was good, but somebody could see it another way.
“So it’s always two sides of the coin,” James continued.
The two have not talked since the report was published Wednesday, but that’s not out of the ordinary, James attested.
“We never talked,” James said. “I don't understand. It's not like me and Jeanie be on the phone talking, guys. I never heard a report about that. Don't make something out of it that it's not. It's always been mutual, it's always been respect, it's always been a great partnership."
LeBron James hugs Jeanie Buss after the Lakers' NBA championship win on Oct. 11, 2020. (Douglas P. DeFelice / Getty Images)
“I've been here two years, everybody in this organization appreciates LeBron and appreciates what he's done for the Lakers,” Redick said before the game. “He's carried on the legacy and also truthfully the burden of being a superstar for the Los Angeles Lakers for eight years. And he's done it with class. And then personally, I can just speak to it: I've enjoyed coaching him at the highest level, like 10 out of 10. That's not to say LeBron and I don't have our disagreements, but I know with that guy, he's gonna put everything into this and it's been awesome to coach.”
James picked up his $52.6 million player option this summer. It’s the first time in his 23-year NBA career that he’s played on the final year of a deal. He will be up for free agency this summer along with several other players, including guard Austin Reaves, forward Rui Hachimura and center Deandre Ayton.
With the trade deadline approaching, James brushed off questions about what steps the Lakers can do to improve their roster. As he turned to walk out of the locker room, James pointed to his hoodie that was printed with the name of his wife Savannah’s podcast.
Draymond Green has a history of getting himself kicked out of games when Steph Curry is unavailable. That might extend to games when Jimmy Butler is out.
The Warriors’ embattled power forward came into a tied game with the Dallas Mavericks and committed two personal fouls and a flagrant in 1:52. Dallas rode the extra free throws to an 11-0 run that the Warriors couldn’t overcome in a 123-115 loss.
Steph Curry and De’Anthony Melton combined for 60 points. Green finished with four points, three turnovers and six fouls — plus a flagrant.
The Warriors lost their second straight game and lost their second forward in three games. Jonathan Kuminga had scored 10 points in nine minutes when he had to leave the game with injuries to his ankle and knee. He finished with a plus/minus of +18, second to Melton’s +22 among Warriors players.
Curry put the Warriors on his back with 38 points and eight three-pointers, while new starter Brandin Podziemski had a 10-assist game. Curry’s 12 4th-quarter points weren’t enough to get Golden State past a huge game from Naji Marshall — 30 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, 10-for-12 shooting — and Dwight Powell turning back the clock with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The Warriors ultimately lost this game in two areas: Rebounding, and fouls. Dallas had 54 rebounds to the Warriors’ 35, and shot 30 free throws to the Warriors’ 18. The bench shot 3-for-16 from deep, Kuminga’s injury derailed the already-tenuous rotations, and Gary Payton II was an improbable -32 in his 17 minutes on the floor while missing three shots within two feet of the hoop.
Melton was once again one of the Warriors best players, scoring his 22 points in 23 minutes, shooting 9-for-15 with two assists and two steals. He may be the most pleasant surprise for the Warriors all year, while unintentionally placing himself in the rumor mill for a deadline deal — though his cheap minimum contract paradoxically might make him harder to trade.
The Warriors spotted the Mavericks a 6-0 lead to begin the game, and for the first part of the first quarter, Golden State’s offense was exclusively Curry three-balls. Kuminga came in and sparked an 8-0 run that featured two different and-ones from the young forward. Why was it that this guy couldn’t see the floor for a month?
When Kuminga re-entered the game in the second, the Warriors went on an immediate 13-3 run, where Melton kept scoring, the Warriors kept sharing the ball, and Kuminga kept attacking the rim — though not with a windmill dunk.
Kuminga had what initially looked like a cute moment with the Dubs up 43-39. He got fouled and while grimacing, temporarily borrowed the seat of a little girl to rest. He got up to drain both free throws, then left the game minutes later. Relieved to see him head for the locker room, the Mavericks went on a 10-0 run.
For the second game in a row, the Warriors lit it up in the third quarter, scoring 39 points, with 13 coming from Curry and eight from Melton. The Warriors shot 16-for-24 and committed only a single turnover, while Marshall and Dubs-killer Brandon Williams kept Dallas close with a combined 18 points of their own.
Moses Moody hit a big shot to cap a 13-4 run to start the quarter, and is now shooting 17-for-29 from three-point range in his last five games.
Golden State eventually pulled ahead of Dallas thanks to a 33-foot heat check three-pointer from Curry. They closed the quarter on a 12-2 run that featured two three-pointers, two layups, and two steals.
The high-water mark for the Warriors came when Buddy Hield hit his second bucket of the quarter, which looked like a three-pointer but was ruled a two. That gave the Warriors a seven-point lead, though one they’d totally surrender within two minutes after a 10-0 Mavericks run. Rookie Cooper Flagg scored four point sin the run, and when Payton blocked his layup, Powell secured the rebound and turned it into one of Max Christie’s five three-pointers (He had 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting, 5-for-12 on threes).
In the entire fourth quarter, the Warriors got three rebounds. Three. They also got possession once when P.J. Washington blocked Curry’s layup out of bounds. It would be hard to avoid getting three rebounds in 12 minutes of play, even with the Mavericks shooting 11-for-17 and going to the line for 13 free throws. But that’s how the Warriors played down the stretch, committing 10 fouls and securing three rebounds. Green had four of the former and one of the latter in his 2:52 of fourth-quarter action.
This isn’t a great team without Jimmy Butler, but this was a very winnable game against an injury-ravaged Mavericks team. Steve Kerr may be scrambling too much, using 10 players in the competitive portion of the final quarter, and it hurt not to have Kuminga after halftime. Then again, Kerr has been known to forget Kuminga is on the bench when he’s been taken out of the game, so it may not have mattered.
The Warriors head to Minneapolis this weekend for what seems to be their annual baseball-style series with the Minnesota Timberwolves, one that hasn’t been kind to the Warriors in the past few years. The Wolves are on a four-game losing streak, which sadly means, they’re due. Two consecutive road games against the team who went to the last two conference finals is bad enough, but Green really looked like he was ready to get kicked out of tonight’s game one way or another. Do we really think he’s going to chill out for two games featuring Rudy Gobert?
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but a late, if not spirited, Lakers comeback fell short as they ultimately lost to the Clippers on Thursday.
It’s a common theme for the team in recent years to fall behind big, fake a comeback and make the score closer than it deserved to be. As was the case against their crosstown rivals, who led by as many as 26 against a pretty woeful Lakers team.
However, the purple and gold found a lineup that provided some energy late in the third and at the start of the fourth, pulling them back into the game. However, with the margin of error razor thin, a Clippers response in the final minutes ended the game, even if the Lakers tried yet again at one last dash comeback.
So, let’s dive into the loss. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
You can see how much LeBron feeds off the energy of athletic players around him. The lineup that got the team back into the game featured the Lakers flying around the court, getting some stops and getting out in transition.
Smart was pivotal in the Lakers’ comeback attempt as he, along with Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura, helped set the tone defensively and get stops.
Luka was really doing all he could in the first quarter and first half to keep the Lakers in it early. By the time the rest of the team caught up, he was out of rhythm. He also didn’t help his case with that late decision not to shoot after the incredible steal from Vando, but that likely wouldn’t have changed the result.
On one hand, Vincent needs to be out of the rotation. On the other hand, having gotten a good look at the other guard options on the bench, it’s hard to make an argument for any of them to get minutes.
On the topic of players who helped spark the run, Vando was also at the heart of it. He still has offensive limitations and missed a couple layups, but he was very much a positive on the night.
Grade: A-
Drew Timme
10 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 3 fouls, +4
Timme’s minutes were more limited in this one, but he was still diving on the floor and making the hustle plays, which is all you could ask from a two-way signing.
JJ Redick
I liked some of the string Redick pulled in this. He benched Ayton on a rough night and went as far as to go centerless, which got the Lakers back into the game.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — If Tuesday’s Grammy trip-opening comeback win over the Nuggets was the Lakers showcasing their ability to climb out of a hole, then Thursday’s 112-104 loss to the Clippers at the Intuit Dome showed that sometimes a hole is too big.
For most of the game, it looked like the Lakers were on the path to losing in a way that’s familiar to many of their fans: have a competitive opening few minutes; allow their opponent to get comfortable offensively; and ultimately lose by double digits after letting go of the rope.
But just like they did two nights prior, the Lakers showed some fight and temporarily flipped the script on the Clippers.
But it wasn’t enough.
After taking an early 18-14 lead behind strong starts from Luka Dončić (32 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and three steals) and LeBron James (23 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals), the Clippers started to take control when reserve wing Kobe Sander knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers following defensive breakdowns from the Lakers.
Though Sanders’ two treys helped ignite a 22-11 run for the Clippers who closed the opening quarter with a 36-29 lead. That early first quarter run extended to a 50-29 advantage for the Clippers who surged to a 64-47 lead at the half.
LeBron James, who scored 23 points, drives on James Harden during the Lakers’ 112-104 loss to the Clippers on Jan. 22, 2026. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
The halftime break didn’t inspire the Lakers who continued to struggle as the Clippers opened the third with a 13-4 run to take a game-best 26-point lead, 79-53.
But the Lakers finally picked it up defensively, cutting the Clippers lead to 86-72 by the end of the third quarter. They ultimately got within just two points midway through the fourth after Dončić hit a fadeaway trey.
Nevertheless, they couldn’t didn’t get any closer despite having multiple attempts to change the momentum.
The Lakers, who trailed 110-104 with 24 seconds left, had one last chance but Dončić missed a 3-pointer ending all hope.
Luka Dončić, who scored 32 points, drives to the baskets between Clippers defenders during the Lakers’ road loss. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
What it means
The Lakers, who fell to 26-17, dropped to No. 6 in the Western Conference standings, just percentage points ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves (27-18).
Turning point
Jake LaRavia’s steal against James Harden at the 8:01 mark in the third, when the Lakers were trailing 72-49, started a stretch in which the Lakers forced six turnovers in the final eight minutes, serving as a spark plug for the team’s defense.
MVP: Kawhi Leonard
Leonard, who made his return after missing the previous three games because of a left knee contusion, finished with 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting to go with five rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes.
Kawhi Leonard, who scored 24 points, drives to the basket during the Clippers’ win over the Lakers. NBAE via Getty Images
One of Leonard’s biggest plays was his assist to John Collins for the corner 3-pointer that put the Clippers up 110-102 with 43 seconds left to secure the win for the Clippers
Stat of the game: 14 steals
The Lakers’ second-half success because they were more disruptive on the defensive end. They held the Clippers to 48 points on 34.2% shooting.
The Clippers committed 11 turnovers in the final two quarters. Lakers also had seven steals in the second half, which led to 13 points.
Up next
The Lakers’ road trip continues with a matchup against the Mavericks in Dallas on Saturday.
It will be Dončić’s second time playing against his former team at American Airlines Center since the shocking trade nearly a year ago.
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers' comeback bid fell short in a 112-104 loss to the L.A. Clippers on Thursday, but the game felt secondary the moment it ended.
During his postgame availability, James was asked about a story by ESPN that questioned the relationship he had with the Lakers’ front office and, more specifically, team governor Jeanie Buss.
“I don't care about an article,” James said. “I don’t care how somebody feels about me. If you know me personally, you know what I'm about. These guys know what I’m about.”
James indicated he doesn’t spend much time talking with Buss, but added he didn't do so with the ultimate leaders of the other teams he played for during his NBA career.
“I thought it was good, but someone might see it a different way,” James said when asked about his relationship with Buss. “There are always two sides to the coin.
“At the end of the day, how I represented this franchise and what I wanted to do to represent this franchise from when I got here until now was with the utmost respect, honor, dignity and loyalty."
Buss released a statement hours after the ESPN story was published on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
“It’s really not right, given all the great things LeBron has done for the Lakers, that he has to be pulled into my family drama,” Buss said in a statement to The Athletic. "To say that it wasn’t appreciated is just not true and completely unfair to him.”
The story was centered around the issues within the Buss family, but also pointed to several incidents where Jeanie Buss had reportedly not been pleased with the team’s superstar.
The story said Buss felt James had failed to take accountability for how things worked out with Russell Westbrook and thought James appeared to be ungrateful after the team drafted James' son, Bronny, in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft.
Asked specifically if he wanted to finish the season with the Lakers, James said "I'm good. I'm good."
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes (11) reacts after he is hit on the head by Clippers center Ivica Zubac while battling for a rebound during the Lakers' 112-104 loss Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Lakers coach JJ Redick understands there's a “human element” to players looking for more minutes so they can score more points. He knows future contracts are important and his team isn't immune to focusing on that.
The Lakers have five players in the final year of their contracts and three more with player options, making for eight potential free agents this offseason.
Redick talked about player contracts after the Lakers lost 112-104 to the Clippers on Thursday night at Intuit Dome for their sixth loss in nine games.
"Guys are worried about their futures," Redick said. "And that's what happens when you got a team full of free agents and player-options. I think it's just natural that you're gonna worry about the offense ... and I've been there. (It gets) in your head a little bit: 'Played five minutes (and) haven't got a shot yet.' And that's a human thing. It's not anybody's fault.”
When a team is in a tailspin — much like the Lakers, who've lost 10 of their last 17 — playing time and points can become major issues for players looking for new contracts.
Clippers forward John Collins dunks during the first half Thursday against the Lakers. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“I think I’ve been here for four seasons now and every year it’s almost the same but it’s different," Hachimura said. "You have to survive, too, so I get it, I understand it. I think we talked about before the season winning is going to help. So, we got to focus on that and everything is going to come out.”
Still, the Lakers have to play the games in front of them. They're two games into an eight-game road trip, with their next game Saturday night in Dallas.
It means they have to compartmentalize the business of the NBA and the games they are being paid to play.
“It is tough. I mean, you got guys fighting for contracts, fighting to stay on the team and you got other guys who are secure and got theirs and kind of understand where they are,” Smart said. “But at the same time, we’re all professionals and we got to come out and do our jobs no matter what. So, the human element does come into play sometimes and you just got to be able to snap out of it quicker than what we are doing.”
Clippers center Ivica Zubac scores on a reverse dunk in the fourth quarter of the Clippers' 112-104 win Thursday at Intuit Dome.
Lakers forward LeBron James tries to steal the ball from Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard in the second half.
Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt battles Zubac for a rebound in the second half.
Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times
With the NBA trade deadline looming on Feb. 5, James was asked if he thinks the Lakers need to make any moves.
“Yeah, I do,” he said. “I do.”
With the Lakers (26-17) holding sixth in the Western Conference, James was asked what the Lakers need to do to level up.
“It's disrespectful to these guys if I start talking over the deadline and what we need to do, we got to get better, whatever the case may be,” he said. “I'm trying not to play fantasy basketball too much.”
So does James want to finish this season with the Lakers?
The San Antonio Spurs didn’t panic when the Utah Jazz erased a double-digit lead and turned Thursday night into a tight fourth quarter game. Instead, they responded with their best basketball of the night.
Behind a decisive late surge powered by De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs broke open a close contest and rolled past the Jazz, 126–109, at the Delta Center.
After watching Utah claw all the way back to tie the game early in the fourth quarter, San Antonio flipped the switch. The Spurs closed the night on a dominant run, overwhelming the Jazz with pace, shooting, and renewed defensive intensity.
“I think a big thing was we were getting stops,” Fox said. “I think that’s why they got back into the game, we stopped getting stops. Once our defense got going again, that’s where we broke the game open.”
Fox led all scorers with 31 points, torching the Jazz from beyond the arc and setting the tone during the Spurs’ closing push. Wembanyama added 26 points, including several clutch three-pointers, as San Antonio finally found separation after a back-and-forth second half.
“My hat goes out to him (Fox). Every day, he comes in, doesn’t have no ego, comes in to work, comes out there, gives us his best every night,” Spurs forward Keldon Johnson said.
The Spurs controlled much of the first half, building a lead behind sharp ball movement and hot perimeter shooting. They connected from deep early and often, opening up space inside and forcing Utah to scramble defensively. Johnson provided a spark off the bench with 21 points, giving San Antonio valuable scoring when the offense stalled.
But Utah refused to go away. The Jazz chipped away at the Spurs’ lead in the third quarter and carried that momentum into the fourth, briefly pulling even and threatening to steal control. Rookie Ace Bailey paced Utah with 25 points, while center Jusuf Nurkić posted his second straight triple-double, anchoring the Jazz’s comeback attempt.
That momentum didn’t last.
Midway through the fourth, Wembanyama drilled a three to break a brief shooting drought, igniting a run that turned a tense game into a comfortable win. Fox followed with another deep ball, and the Spurs rattled off a decisive stretch that left Utah scrambling for answers.
Head coach Mitch Johnson praised his team’s composure after the Jazz made their run.
“It’s a never-ending battle and a lot of defensive miscues and game plan execution breakdowns in terms of coverage, scheme, discipline, personnel, but again, 17 points in the fourth quarter got the job done.” he said.
San Antonio finished with five players in double figures and controlled the final minutes on both ends, holding Utah to limited looks while continuing to punish defensive breakdowns.
For a Spurs team still learning how to close games consistently, the final stretch offered an encouraging sign.
“Just trying to continue to get better and continue to hold ourselves to the standard that we believe is our standard, and then also continue to get better in regards to that as well,” Coach Johnson said.
The Spurs will look to build on that fourth quarter performance as they return to the court on Sunday after a few days off, hoping Thursday’s finish is less of an exception and more of a blueprint going forward.
Game Notes
Luke Kornet joined the Spurs’ injury list but Mitch Johnson said he doesn’t expect him to be on the list long. That’s a good sign because man, did the Spurs miss him tonight.
Stephon Castle had a nice night at the office with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals. The best stat of all? Just one turnover. Let’s hope his trend of turning the ball over is done.
The Spurs may have struggled as a team from beyond the arc this past month but not Julian Champagnie. He was hot again from three, scoring 17 points while hitting five triples.
San Antonio will now have two days off before playing Sunday against New Orleans and another two days off after that. That rest is going to be much needed for Vassell and Kornet. It would not surprise me if they were back for that next game.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Shaedon Sharpe scored 27 points and had seven rebounds and four steals, and the Portland Trail Blazers extended their winning streak to four games with a 127-110 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday night.
Deni Avdija added 20 points before leaving with a back injury. Caleb Love also had 20 points, Toumani Camara had 16 and Jrue Holiday 15 for the Trail Blazers, who led by as many as 21 and won for the 11th time in 14 games. Their 9-2 mark in January is the best in the NBA.
At 23-22, it's the first time the Trail Blazers are over .500 through 45 games since the 2020-2021 season.
Bam Adebayo scored 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Heat. Norman Powell added 18 points and Simone Fontecchio had 17.
The Trail Blazers led 64-63 at halftime and pulled away with a 17-2 run in the third quarter that put them up by 17. Sharpe led the way with a team-high 24 second-half points.
The Trail Blazers made 20 3-pointers, with Sharpe shooting 5 of 9 from beyond the arc, compared to the Heat making just nine.
The Lakers nearly pulled off an improbable comeback against the Clippers on Thursday before coming up just short, falling 112-104.
After trailing by as many as 26 in the second half, the Lakers cut the deficit to two points, setting up a frantic finish. Despite an improved defensive effort in the second half, LA ran out of steam down the stretch.
LA lost the rebounding battle 55-43, giving up 15 second-chance points. Ivica Zubac pulled down 19 boards himself.
It was an offensive showdown early. Jake LaRavia was red hot, draining two 3-pointers for the Lakers. Kawhi Leonard then began to heat up for the Clippers, scoring eight points. LaRavia and Luka Dončić combined for 12 of LA’s first 16 points.
Kobe Sanders provided instant offense for the Clippers off the bench with two triples. The purple and gold’s struggles mounted as Luka was the only one scoring. The Clippers jumped to a lead of seven, forcing a Laker timeout.
Out of the break, Luka scored on a shot off the glass.
Sanders continued shooting well from behind the arc, draining another triple. After missing his first two shots, Rui Hachimura knocked down a 3-pointer at the first quarter buzzer, making it a seven-point deficit.
The second period began with Brook Lopez scoring four points. LeBron James was being assertive and playing aggressively as he was at nine points in the half. The Lakers couldn’t defend Leonard, who was still scoring at ease. He was the second player in the game in double figures with 12.
At the 7:13 mark, the Lakers were down by nine.
Each time the Lakers tried to get closer, the Clips had an answer. Despite defending James Harden well, he did still manage to notch seven points. The lead kept growing for the Clippers as the Lakers completely fell apart on both ends.
At halftime, the purple and gold were down by 17.
The Lakers failed to score from the 2:58 mark of the 2nd Q until Ayton's first hoop with 26 seconds to play, snapping a 9-0 run.
The third period began with both teams missing shots until Harden converted on a three-point play. Deandre Ayton countered with a hook shot on the other end. Leonard then went on a personal 5-0 scoring run, forcing a timeout for the Lakers. The Lakers only made one of their first seven shot attempts.
Leonard was now at 24 points for the game.
The Lakers were struggling with poor energy and effort until they suddenly found some life. They scored five straight points, but they were still down by double figures. After a Clippers timeout, Luka converted on a midrange jumper.
The Lakers continued to build on the momentum they had conjured up by defending and scoring. They ended the third on a 19-7 scoring run for a deficit of 14 going into the fourth period.
LA finally got something going late in the 3rd Q, rallying behind Luka Doncić – 26 points, 8 boards, 7 assists – to get within 14 after trailing by as much as a 26 earlier in the period.
Hachimura opened the final frame with a 3-pointer for the Lakers. Jordan Miller was cooking for the Clips with seven quick points. The Lakers were throwing all their bodies at Leonard, making him battle more for his shots.
It was down to a 10-point game at the 8:45 mark.
Jarred Vanderbilt was providing energy off the bench by doing the dirty work with two assists and three steals. The Lakers had completely taken all the momentum from the Clippers and had now made it a five-point game.
It's a 35-14 extended run now, and the deficit is down to 5 after Smart's and-1.
Luka and Harden exchanged a pair of 3-pointers, making it a fun shootout. It had become a two-point deficit until the Clippers answered back with a 10-0 scoring run.
All the great energy and effort the Lakers had built was an afterthought as they looked drained. As quickly as it looked to all be done, the Lakers came alive once more, scoring eight straight points to cut the deficit to single digits once more.
A three-point play from LeBron made it a three-point game with 1:28 left.
The Clippers then responded again with a 5-0 run, capped off with a John Collins three with 43 seconds left to put the hosts up 110-102 to effectively seal the result.
Key Player Stats
Dončić ended with 32 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and three steals. LeBron had 23 points with five rebounds and six assists. LaRavia pitched in with seven points, five rebounds, three steals and four blocks.
Hachimura scored 12 points off the bench. Jaxson Hayes notched six points and two rebounds. Vanderbilt put up seven points with two assists and four steals while finishing with a team-best plus-minus of +16. Marcus Smart had 10 points with four assists and two steals.
The Lakers’ next matchup will be against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday at 5:30 PM PT.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Anthony Mantha scored twice, Sidney Crosby made it three in an early 37-second span and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 on Thursday night.
The 37-second spree was the fastest three goals in Penguins history and the fastest three allowed by the Oilers.
The Penguins scored on three of their first four shots. Just 2:20 in, Justin Brazeau made a nifty pass through a defender’s legs to Mantha, who deflected it in. Twenty-two seconds later, Mantha scored on a breakaway. Crosby struck 15 seconds after that, deflecting a pass from the slot into the net.
Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist, Rickard Rakell, and Egor Chinakhov also scored and Arturs Silovs made 30 saves. The Penguins have won three straight and are 10-2-2 in their last 14 to get to 25-14-11.
Jake Walman and Matthew Savoie scored for Edmonton, and Tristan Jarry made 16 saves against his former team. The Oilers have lost two in a row and four of six to fall to 25-19-8.
Connor McDavid was held pointless in consecutive games are the first time this season. The last time he went two games without a point was Feb. 7 and Feb. 22, 2025, a pair of matches broken up by the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The Mavericks took care of business tonight in what was probably their most impressive win and offensive performance without Anthony Davis this season, beating the Golden State Warriors 123-115 in Dallas.
The Mavericks won behind an absurd performance from Naji Marshall, who scored 3o points on 10-for-12 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds and nine assists. Cooper Flagg also had another impressive night with a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double. It was a full-team effort, with six players finishing in double digits. The Warriors tried to keep up behind another all-world performance from Steph Curry, who finished with 38 points on eight made threes and 14-for-27 overall from the field. Without Jimmy Butler, Curry’s supporting cast did very little to help. DeAnthony Melton had 21, but no other player had more than 12 on Golden State.
Let’s get to the numbers.
+22: Mavericks’ rebounding differential.
The rebounding gap told the entire story of this game. Dallas finished with 65 total rebounds to Golden State’s 44, including 11 offensive boards that turned into 24 second-chance points, while the Warriors managed just four offensive rebounds and five second-chance points. That difference showed up all night in the play-by-play: every Curry jumper that missed became a Mavericks reset, and every Dallas miss was followed by a put-back, a kick-out three, or another possession entirely. It’s why Golden State could never turn its shooting runs into real momentum, and why Dallas kept scoring even when shots didn’t fall.
This wasn’t just winning the glass; it was owning the game’s economy, creating nearly five times as many second-chance points, and suffocating Golden State’s ability to play on even ground.
56: Mavericks paint points
Dallas didn’t just beat Golden State with shooting, they bludgeoned them at the rim, piling up 56 points in the paint as the Warriors’ point-of-attack defense completely collapsed, especially in the fourth quarter. Naji Marshall and Brandon Williams walked into the lane possession after possession, finishing through contact or drawing fouls while Golden State’s help defense arrived late or not at all. Even with 21 Dallas turnovers, it barely mattered because the Warriors couldn’t stop anything once the Mavericks got downhill, allowing drives, cuts, and dump-offs to turn into automatic points.
When a team gives up that kind of interior access late in a close game, no amount of ball pressure or perimeter shooting can save them, and that’s how Dallas turned a tight contest into a controlled finish.
-24: Caleb Martin’s plus/,inus
Caleb Martin finished -24 in just 19 minutes in his fourth start of the season, a hilarious number in a game the Mavericks otherwise controlled from start to finish. Even as Dallas dominated the paint, the glass, and the possession battle, the lineups featuring Martin were the rare stretches where Golden State was able to breathe, generating quick scores before the Mavericks could reset. It wasn’t about one blown coverage or missed shot, but how his minutes coincided with the Warriors’ only real offensive pockets, when Dallas’ spacing tightened and stops didn’t turn into transition. In a night defined by control and physicality from the Mavericks, Martin’s plus-minus stood out as the lone statistical red flag.
21: Cooper Flagg points
Cooper Flagg quietly put together one of his more complete offensive nights, finishing with 21 points while looking far more under control than he has in recent games. Instead of forcing his way into traffic, Flagg picked his spots, attacking the rim when lanes were there and sliding into open space off the ball for easy finishes when the defense collapsed. Flagg also showed off his versatility, scoring on cuts, straight-line drives, and quick finishes, rather than the rushed pull-ups that have stalled his efficiency at times this season.
In a game where Dallas was winning through pace and interior pressure, Flagg fit seamlessly into that rhythm, playing within the flow and turning good spacing into efficient production.
On a freezing cold Thursday night in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Timberwolves desperately needed a win. They had lost their previous three games and had fallen to seventh place in the Western Conference. They were unable to get it as they were taken down by the middling Chicago Bulls 120-115.
Just like the previous game against the Utah Jazz, the Wolves got out to a great start. They took a 14-point lead a little more than eight minutes into the game on the back of hounding defense. Minnesota forced misses on 10 of the first 12 Chicago shots, allowing them to get easy baskets on the other end of the court.
As the game went on, though, that defensive intensity went away. The largest indicator for this was the Wolves’ inability to avoid fouling. So often, the Wolves were not in the correct position to defend their man. Instead of moving their feet to defend properly, they either committed blocking fouls or reached in and made contact with a Bulls player’s arms.
In the second quarter, the Bulls were in the bonus with 8:48 left. In the third quarter, they were in the bonus with 6:56 remaining. Overall, Minnesota committed 27 fouls (plus a Naz Reid technical foul), which led to 33 Chicago free throws.
“Our inability to contain drives right now is really hurting us,” Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said about his team’s defesive performance. “Kind of over helping in places that we didn’t want to over help in, and a readiness to contain the next drive.”
The Wolves trailed by three points heading into the fourth quarter, and as they have so often this season, they came storming back. Midway through the fourth quarter, the defense finally started to get some stops, and the offense found a rhythm as a Naz Reid dunk gave them a six-point lead with five minutes left.
The Wolves were unable to put the game away from that point, as they missed their next four shots, allowing the Bulls to cut the lead to one. The Wolves stopped the bleeding there, though, after an Anthony Edwards floater and a 3-pointer from Jaden McDaniels, the Timberwolves found themselves up four with a minute and a half left.
That is when the game came crumbling down for the Wolves, as Edwards fell asleep guarding his man in the corner. Coby White drilled the 3-pointer from the corner to cut the Minnesota lead to just one.
“Josh Giddey made a good pass,” Edwards said about the play. “I wasn’t expecting that pass. So my reaction was like Bones [Hyland] said I was stuck in quicksand when he caught the ball. It felt like it. So, I couldn’t really get a contest. I know I’mma get cussed out about that one.”
The Wolves followed that up with turnovers on their next two possessions, allowing Tre Jones to streak to the rim off an inbounds pass to give Chicago a one-point lead. With the game on the line, on the next possession, Ant used up most of the shot clock and threw up a heavily contested three that came nowhere close to going in.
That would be as close as the Wolves would come to winning the game, as a pair of Jalen Smith free throws and an Edwards on a game-tying 3-pointer, the game was out of reach.
Edwards finished with just 20 points, struggling to find his shot as he finished the game 9-25 from the field. Julius Randle led the Wolves in scoring with 30 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Naz scored 20 points, including four 3-pointers, but aside from him, the Wolves’ bench scored eight points on 3-14 shooting.
The loss was the Wolves’ fourth straight. The first two against the Houston Rockets without Edwards, and against the San Antonio Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back, were understandable. These last two versus the Jazz and Bulls, on the other hand, do not come with nearly the same benefit of the doubt.
“We know what we have to do to be better in that department,” Julius Randle said about the team’s energy. “It’s a long season. There’s going to be ups and downs. A week ago we could’ve looked like the best team in basketball and this week we can look like the worst. We just gotta find a way to find a consistency.”
There is still plenty of season left, but this recent stretch may have cost the Wolves a top seed in the Western Conference, and they are now fighting to just stay out of the Play-In Tournament.
The Wolves did this all a season ago. They struggled for most of the regular season, but turned in on late and made the Western Conference Finals after finishing as the sixth seed. They still have the ability to go on a similar run, but maybe that is what is holding this team back. It doesn’t seem like the Wolves feel the urgency in fighting for a top seed because last year proved they don’t need it. At least that’s what it feels like they think.
Up Next
With the local temperatures set to dip below negative ten over the weekend, the Timberwolves stay home for a pair of games against the Golden State Warriors. The first is a Saturday matinee at 4:30 PM CT at Target Center. Wolves fans can watch the game on ABC.
