Author: NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

The Wizards took on the Los Angeles in the hostile road environment of…well…Washington, DC, and got stomped, 142-111.

If you’re a Wizards fan — and you probably are if you’re reading this — fire this game into the sun. Shoot into a memory hole. Nothing to see.

There’s stuff from this one the Wizards youngsters could probably learn. Maybe something about being mentally and physically prepared on the second night of a back-to-back. Perhaps some lessons about maintaining top physical condition and all-around fitness to sustain a long career. There were lessons about building skills, developing counters for when the defense stymies you, and learning the game so you can think a step or two ahead of your opponent. Possibly, something about staying humble when things have gone well recently (like a two-game winning streak).

Maybe.

For me, the biggest takeaway: fugetaboutit. Young players, bad game against a veteran team coming in hot after a bad loss of their own — a team playing for something and with something to prove.

If you were a DC-based Lakers fan and could get a ticket, you were likely entertained by the nine alley-oop dunks Los Angeles successfully executed against Washington defenders who kept getting so mesmerized by The Ball that they forgot to defend the big guy standing near the basket. (The Lakers had a 10th lob attempt that Deandre Ayton couldn’t convert. He ended up getting the offensive rebound and drawing a foul. He made the free throws.

Or they forgot to rotate when Alex Sarr went to help, which was a lot because no one in a Wizards uniform could keep a Lakers player in front of him.

Or they kinda pointed vaguely where a teammate should go while the teammate’s back was turned instead of verbally communicating, as players are taught to do.

If you’re keeping score at home, that’s 20 Lakers points on 10 lob attempts. Yikes,

This one was over quickly. The Lakers kicked the Wizards in the teeth in the first quarter, and continued kicking in the second. Washington trailed by 29 at the half, and the Lakers coasted in from there.

The only real drama was whether Luka Doncic would get a triple-double by halftime (he did) and whether the Lakers would ever stop dunking on Washington (they did, but only because time expired).

Thoughts & Observations

• LeBron James is still pretty dang good. Last night, he converted a left-handed catch and dunk on a lob pass that I thought was too high for nearly anyone, much less a 41-year-old. He also threw down a driving dunk on Sarr after drawing him on a switch and clearing the court so he could attack.
• Luka Doncic was outright clowning the Wizards, who were incapable of slowing him. He finished with 37 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. His point total would likely have been higher if the refs had called the 5-6 clear fouls Washington committed that didn’t draw a whistle.
• The Wizards had a positive scoring differential with only one player: Anthony Gill. Gill basically had the game of his career — 9 points on 4-5 shooting and 10 rebounds in just 17 minutes of action.
• Washington’s poor defense made Ayton look like an all-time great. He finished with 28 points on 14 field goal attempts along with 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
• Washington did the same favor for backup big man Jaxson Hayes, who scored 10 points on 5 field goal attempts.
• At least The Puppy Race at halftime was entertaining. Bark Carrington came through with the come-from-behind win when the race’s early leader succumbed to an apparent case of ADHD inches from the finish line.

Four Factors

Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball — shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).

The four factors are measured by:

• eFG% (effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the three-point shot)
• OREB% (offensive rebound percentage)
• TOV% (turnover percentage — turnovers divided by possessions)
• FTM/FGA (free throws made divided by field goal attempts)

FOUR FACTORS	LAKERS	WIZARDS	LGAVG
eFG%	69.4%	52.5%	54.3%
OREB%	33.3%	32.7%	26.1%
TOV%	24.2%	16.7%	12.8%
FTM/FGA	0.282	0.071	0.209
PACE	107		99.5
ORTG	132	103	115.5

Stats & Metrics

PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).

PPA is a per possession metric designed for larger data sets. In small sample sizes, the numbers can get weird. In PPA, 100 is average, higher is better and replacement level is 45. For a single game, replacement level isn’t much use, and I reiterate the caution about small samples sometimes producing weird results.

POSS is the number of possessions each player was on the floor in this game.

ORTG = offensive rating, which is points produced per individual possessions x 100. League average so far this season is 115.5. Points produced is not the same as points scored. It includes the value of assists and offensive rebounds, as well as sharing credit when receiving an assist.

USG = offensive usage rate. Average is 20%.

ORTG and USG are versions of stats created by former Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver and modified by me. ORTG is an efficiency measure that accounts for the value of shooting, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. USG includes shooting from the floor and free throw line, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers.

+PTS = “Plus Points” is a measure of the points gained or lost by each player based on their efficiency in this game compared to league average efficiency on the same number of possessions. A player with an offensive rating (points produced per possession x 100) of 100 who uses 20 possessions would produce 20 points. If the league average efficiency is 114, the league — on average — would produced 22.8 points in the same 20 possessions. So, the player in this hypothetical would have a +PTS score of -2.8.

Players are sorted by total production in the game.

WIZARDS	MIN	POSS	ORTG	USG	+PTS	PPA	+/-
Alex Sarr	28	63	124	21.1%	1.1	130	-30
Anthony Gill	17	38	155	16.7%	2.5	185	2
Will Riley	25	56	93	26.6%	-3.3	116	-5
Bub Carrington	25	57	102	26.9%	-2.1	102	-28
Malaki Branham	22	49	134	19.6%	1.8	113	-3
Justin Champagnie	24	53	138	10.7%	1.3	67	-27
Kyshawn George	27	61	96	26.7%	-3.1	46	-17
Jamir Watkins	35	78	78	14.6%	-4.2	15	-15
Bilal Coulibaly	24	54	74	18.1%	-4.1	-18	-22
Sharife Cooper	13	29	60	15.6%	-2.5	-65	-10

LAKERS	MIN	POSS	ORTG	USG	+PTS	PPA	+/-
Luka Doncic	31	68	135	40.0%	5.3	450	21
Deandre Ayton	29	65	174	23.7%	9.0	383	30
Jarred Vanderbilt	16	36	149	14.9%	1.8	265	7
LeBron James	30	66	109	26.4%	-1.2	134	25
Jaxson Hayes	14	30	178	17.0%	3.2	269	-3
Jake LaRavia	25	56	102	6.5%	-0.5	98	24
Gabe Vincent	18	41	134	10.4%	0.8	130	3
Rui Hachimura	18	40	129	20.1%	1.0	108	-2
Drew Timme	17	38	128	10.9%	0.5	31	17
Marcus Smart	27	59	71	11.1%	-2.9	1	21
Maxi Kleber	5	12	211	18.5%	2.2	416	4
Dalton Knecht	5	12	103	27.8%	-0.4	168	4
Bronny James	5	12	107	31.4%	-0.3	58	4

Luka Doncic scored a triple double in 20 first-half minutes as the Los Angeles Lakers thrashed the Washington Wizards 142-111 on Friday.

The 26-year-old, who on Tuesday became the quickest Laker to reach 2,000 points, showed no lasting injuries after he fell off Cleveland's elevated court in a 30-point defeat on Thursday.

Leading the way with 26 points by half-time, six-time NBA All-Star Doncic helped the Lakers to their second-highest scoring performance of the season.

Deandre Ayton bagged 28 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while LeBron James grabbed 20 points and six assists.

The victory denied three straight wins for the Wizards, who had beaten the Portland Trail Blazers and the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Lakers next play the New York Knicks on Monday, while the Wizards face the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.

Not even a blizzard can stop NBA basketball. The San Antonio Spurs are traveling to Charlotte for a game against the Hornets, with record snowfall expected to hit the city. For that reason, the game was pushed up to 11 a.m. CT to avoid the snow. Luckily, the game is played indoors, and the weather won’t impact the play on the court (that’s a shot at the NFL).

The Spurs will face the Hornets after a big comeback win against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. Don’t let their record fool you, the Hornets are just as tough as one of San Antonio’s Western Conference rivals. Charlotte has won five straight games and has the 6th-best offensive rating in the NBA. The Hornets have run teams off the court with their scoring, and blownout teams by 30+ this season. San Antonio has an elite defensive team, and they’ll need their defense to show up on Saturday.

The Spurs are tied with the Denver Nuggets for second place in the West. They’ll need to keep winning to hold their position at the top of the conference. Meanwhile, Charlotte is 2.5 games out of 10th in the East and gaining ground fast on the Chicago Bulls for a play-in spot. With both teams playing good basketball right now, fans who trudge through the snow should have a good game awaiting them at the Spectrum Center.

San Antonio Spurs (32-15) vs. Charlotte Hornets (21-28)

January 31st, 2026 | 11 AM CT

Watch: Amazon Prime | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: Harrison Ingram – Out (G League), Stanley Umude – Out (G League), David Jones-Garcia – Out (G League), Jeremy Sochan – Out (quad)

Hornets Injuries: Josh Green – Probable (achilles), PJ Hall – Out (G League), Liam McNeeley – Out (G League), Mason Plumlee – Out (groin), Antonio Reeves – Out (G League), KJ Simpson – Out (G League)

What to watch for:

Running Charlotte off the line

The Hornets are a great three-point shooting team. They are hitting 15.3 deep balls a game at a 37.3% clip, good enough for 5th in the NBA in both categories. With sharpshooters like Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, and LaMelo Ball, the Hornets have multiple players who can hurt you from deep. Things get a bit more mixed when Charlotte is inside the restricted area. They are shooting 46.4% from the field this season, 19th in the league. The Spurs can mitigate the Hornets’ strength by running shooters off the line and funneling them to Victor Wembanyama, who can force them into tough shots in the paint.

Forcing turnovers

Charlotte is also prone to coughing the ball up. The Hornets turn the ball over 15.7 times per game, third most in the NBA. They aren’t great at creating turnovers on the other end to mitigate this issue. The Spurs can cause havoc defensively when they play the passing lanes. Ball pressure from Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox will be crucial to helping San Antonio slow down the Hornets’ offensive attack.

San Antonio’s guard trio

The Spurs played a lineup featuring all three of their core guards against the Rockets on Wednesday. Dylan Harper, Castle and Fox shared the floor alongside Wembanyama and Devin Vassell, and then Keldon Johnson. This lineup was solid defensively and gave San Antonio plenty of playmaking on the offensive end. The glimpse at the lineup was brief, but enticing. Charlotte is a big team, but given their turnover issues and three-point shooting, having more aggressive, quick defenders on the floor at the same time could prove advantageous. It would be fun to get another look at the 3-guard lineup on Saturday.

Stephen Curry left the Golden State Warriors’ 131-124 loss to the Detroit Pistons with an injury on Friday, Jan. 30.

Curry experienced right knee soreness and left the game late in the third quarter. It is the same knee that’s been nagging the star guard for the past week.

Curry was seen grimacing after an and-1 layup and limped down the tunnel and to the locker room.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr was optimistic about Curry's status in the moments following the game.

"I think he's OK. I don't think it's anything major," Kerr told reporters during his postgame media availability.

Kerr indicated that there will be an update on Curry’s knee on Saturday.

Pat Spencer took over at point guard in place of Curry.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Steph Curry injury update: Warriors star leaves loss to Pistons

You ever watch a building collapse in slow motion? That was the Warriors’ first quarter against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night….a structural failure so catastrophic that even Steph Curry’s brilliance couldn’t rebuild the foundation before his knee gave out and ultimately the Dubs were unable to overcome.

The final score reads 131-124, but that number doesn’t capture the chaos. The Pistons hung 45 points on the Warriors in the opening frame; the most points Golden State has surrendered in a single quarter all season. Not the most you want to surrender to a Pistons team that is the #1 seed in the East.

Battled until the end pic.twitter.com/c8SR91LN3o

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 31, 2026

Detroit shot 62% from the field in the first half and built a 77-64 halftime lead that felt insurmountable. Cade Cunningham carved up the Warriors’ defense like a true All-Star, finishing with 29 points and 11 assists. Jalen Duren went 7-of-14 from the field with 21 points and 13 rebounds, looking every bit like the big man menace the Pistons hoped he’d become.

The Warriors clawed back in the second half because that’s what championship DNA refuses to die quietly. Buddy Hield knocked down a three-pointer with six minutes left to cut Detroit’s lead to 117-114, and for a moment, you could feel the comeback materializing. Steph had already dropped 23 points before exiting in the third quarter with a knee issue, and the building blocks were there for one of those vintage Warriors rallies that make you believe.

Steph Curry is headed to the locker room with a knee injury

NOOOO pic.twitter.com/mRI3Cd1k3g

— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) January 31, 2026

Then Steph didn’t come back. Knee injury. No word yet on severity, but after watching Jimmy Butler’s season end with an ACL tear just days ago, Dub Nation is collectively holding its breath and praying to every deity that’ll listen. This team can’t afford another catastrophic injury. Not now. Not when the championship window is already showing cracks.

Fake comeback?

— Light Years (@lightyrspod) January 31, 2026

Draymond Green finished with 15 points and 7 assists in 33 minutes of the kind of gritty, veteran leadership that keeps this team afloat. De’Anthony Melton added 18 points off the bench on 7-of-13 shooting, one of the few bright spots in a game where Golden State shot just 44% from the field and 35% from three. Moses Moody? Quiet night with 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting. Brandin Podziemski contributed 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists but couldn’t provide the late-game juice the Warriors desperately needed. Al Horford chipped in 13 points, but this wasn’t a night where veteran steadiness could overcome the Pistons’ early offensive explosion.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: The Warriors gave up 62 points in the paint and allowed Detroit to control 90% of the game. The Pistons led by as many as 20 and never looked panicked, even when Golden State mounted its comeback.

Coming off seven straight losses, the Brooklyn Nets finally found the win column for the first time in 26 days while sliding past the Utah Jazz 109–99.

The win was rooted more in execution than shot-making. Even while shooting lower percentages from the field and from three for most of the game, Brooklyn stayed disciplined defensively and made the right plays at the right time.

Just four players reached double figures, with BYU product Egor Demin leading the way with a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, recording his first career double-double in his return to Utah.

When asked about his thunderous return to the Beehive State, the rookie took a moment to reflect on his career night.

“It’s very special. Especially having these people that mean so much to me here. I’m feeling this BYU love,” Demin said. “It means a lot to me.”

Demin’s Homecoming

While knocking down three early triples in the first quarter, Demin became the second-fastest rookie in NBA history to reach 100 made three-pointers, while also setting an NBA rookie record with his 34th consecutive game with a made three.

As has been the case throughout his season, most of his damage came from beyond the arc, with all but two of his eight made field goals coming from deep.

He continues to shoot with an uncommon level of confidence for a rookie, reaching his 25 points efficiently by shooting 50 percent from both the field and from three while totaling just two turnovers.

“Very happy for him. Very efficient game. He was ready to shoot,” said Nets head coach Jordi Fernández. “There was a reason why we drafted him. That’s something we can not teach. He has that mentality, always even-keeled. Every time the ball goes up, I believe it’s going in. I’m proud of him.”

Rather than taking credit for the best night of his career during his homecoming, the rookie showed why his maturity and character have stood out so far by deflecting the praise to his teammates.

“Nothing new. My teammates being good teammates. It’s a new lineup, playing with Noah for the first time and I love it. His penetration has opened up so much for us. The way he’s aggressive makes everybody life easier.”

With 104 made three-pointers on the season, Demin currently ranks second among all rookies and is on pace to finish with 181 threes, surpassing Kerry Kittles’ rookie record of 158.

Defense Sets The Tone

They may not have kept up with Utah’s shooting percentage, but Brooklyn brought down 14 more rebounds than Utah.

According to Fernández, Utah’s switch-heavy approach created cross-matches that Brooklyn was able to exploit, particularly on the glass, and he credited his team for capitalizing on those opportunities.

“When you are cross-matched, you can go and attack the glass,” Fernandez said. “And I think our guys did a great job.”

Center Nic Claxton and rookie point guard Nolan Traoré each finished with two blocks, while rookie forward Danny Wolf added one of his own.

 Beyond what showed up on the stat sheet, Brooklyn consistently clogged the paint with active hands, contested shots while making life difficult for any Utah player that ventured into the paint, holding an opponent under 100 points for the first time in over a month.

The Jazz may have shot more efficiently than Brooklyn through the first three quarters, but the Nets simply took more shots and converted at a high enough rate that Utah’s efficiency ultimately didn’t matter.

Rookies Step Up

Demin wasn’t the only rookie to make a difference, as all five of Brooklyn’s rookies scored for the first time this season and the first time since 1991, with Traoré and Wolf playing key roles in Friday night’s win.

Traoré continues to show how far he’s come from the rushed, panicked player who struggled in the G League just a few months ago. While he may not yet be the explosive scorer he was in France just yet, the 19-year-old was effective across 26 minutes, finishing with seven points, six assists, two blocks, and just one turnover while shooting 37.5 percent from the field.

As the lightest player selected in the 2025 NBA Draft Traoré wasn’t expected to make much of an impact defensively early on, but effort goes a long way. He consistently kept himself in the mix by contesting shots and chasing Utah’s guards around screens while helping anchor Brooklyn’s defensive effort.

After a rough couple of games, Wolf bounced back with his best statistical outing of 2026 finishing with 14 points on 54.5% shooting while adding five rebounds, two assists and a block.

While he may not be a noticeable contributor just yet, rookie Ben Saraf has averaged 18 minutes over the past four games since returning from the G League. During Friday’s win, he finished with two points while dishing out two assists and grabbing a steal through 21 minutes of action.

Milestone Watch

• Demin picked the right time to steal the show in his return to Utah, setting an NBA rookie record with 34 consecutive games with a made three-pointer. The rookie also became the second-fastest first-year player to reach 100 made three-pointers in their career.
• With two blocks during Friday’s win, Nic Claxton is just three blocks away from passing Mike Gminski for the fourth-most blocks in franchise history.

What’s Next?

Sunday, the Nets will head to Detroit to take on the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.

Led by All-Star guard Cade Cunningham, who is averaging 25.3 points per game, Detroit enters the matchup at 35–12, holding the best record in the Eastern Conference and the second-best mark in the NBA.

Links

Brooklyn Nets vs Utah Jazz Jan 30, 2026 Game Summary

Egor Demin dazzles with first NBA double-double as Nets snap skid…

The Jazz lost this one 109-99 to the Brooklyn Nets. They kept it close for the majority of this game, but in the end Cam Thomas and Egor Demin outgunned the Jazz. That pretty much sums this one up. I think the tanking this year has numbed my brain, but it will all be worth it if/when we land a top 3 pick in this upcoming draft.

Keyonte George- B+

Just your average Keyonte George game at this point. 26 points, 7 assists. I decided to knock his grade down a bit for missing three free throws. He had an awesome dunk off a lob from Cody Williams. Not his best night from deep however as he went 1/3. He appeared to tweak his ankle in the 4th quarter so this could be the last we see from Key in a while. I’m really hoping that it wasn’t anything too serious and Key will be back on the court soon.

Ace Bailey- C+

Ace had a monster jam in the third, and looked confident shooting from deep tonight. He shot 50% from the field, and had two steals. He could only secure two boards and didn’t log an assist on the night.

Cody Williams- C-

Not Cody’s finest night, as he had a horrible pass that sailed over everyone’s head and out of bounds, he also got swatted while driving to the hoop. He did have his once per game nice dunk though, and had a nice drive and score to open the game. I am Cody’s #1 fan, but only 2 boards and an assist in 28 minutes?! I have no doubt this was caused by the lingering symptoms of his illness, and that next game he’ll play better.

Svi Mykhailuik- D

Svi only had 3 points tonight, and didn’t shoot well at all. He went 1/6 from the field, and 1/4 from three point range. He’s a guy to keep an eye on as the trade deadline approaches.

Kyle Filipowski- A-

Flip had the best game I’ve seen him play in a while. He put up 14 points and 12 rebounds and also had a solid night on defense. Its games like this that really show just how valuable Flip could be as a backup big man for when the Jazz are competitive again.

Isaiah Collier- B-

As we’ve all come to expect Collier passed the ball well, and dished out 7 assists. He also added 10 points. Watching the games lately I’ve noticed that his lack of an outside shot has really capped his ceiling. The lone three he attempted was a tough miss, he also had 4 turnovers.

Brice Sensabaugh- B

Solid night for Brice, he had 18 points and 5 rebounds. He had a few really nice mid-range jumpers.

Kyle Anderson- C

Anderson had an extremely quiet game tonight. He made 1/2 shots, and had 4 assists.

Taylor Hendricks- C-

Hendricks continues to struggle in his limited playing time. He’s going through the necessary struggles as he works his way back from last year’s injury. It wasn’t all bad as he did have two and one opportunities tonight. He shot 1-4 from deep and missed both his free throws. It’s important to keep in mind that this year is about recovery for Hendricks. Patience is key for his development.

Walter Clayton- D

Clayton only played 13 minutes in this one. He only mustered up one point on 3 shots. I still believe in Clayton long term, and I think he should receive an increase in minutes because he is a much better shooter than Collier.

The Utah Jazz were extremely successful tanking lost to the Brooklyn Nets 109-99. It was a battle of wills between two teams very interested in adding lottery talent to their teams. The Nets won but it was very much not he outcome they probably wanted. Don’t forget, the Jazz and Nets both had bad lottery luck last year, but the Jazz, because of better positioning, held their spot and came away with the 5th pick.

To start this one, both teams made sure it was their youth, and only youth, as the focus.

Utah made sure that they were without Lauri Markkanen, Jusuf Nurkic, and Kevin Love.

The Jazz ruled out Lauri Markkanen (Rest), Jusuf Nurkic (Illness), and Kevin Love (Illness) tonight vs. the Nets.

Cody Williams (Illness) is questionable.

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) January 30, 2026

The Nets countered with their own list of players missing.

And the Nets answer right back:

Michael Porter Jr (Personal Reasons), Noah Clowney (Back Injury Management), and Ziaire Williams (Left Calf Contusion) are OUT tonight.

The Nets are 0-8 without MPJ this season. The Jazz are 1-12 without Markkanen.

A tank battle for the ages. https://t.co/w8XIZRwVID

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) January 30, 2026

The Nets had a fantastic performance from former BYU guard, Egor Demin. Demin was 8/16 from the field and 6/12 from three for 25 points with 10 rebounds and 4 assists. He was vital in the win for Brooklyn and looks like a legit piece for them going forward. The Nets also had a great second quarter from Cam Thomas, who ended the game with 21 points. Thomas scores the ball and not much else, but sometimes that’s what you need most. His scoring was the real difference for the Nets tonight.

For Utah, they had some bright spots in this one, on top of inching closer to the top of the lottery standings.

Keyonte George was his usual self this game. He was an electric 9/11 from the field for 27 points with 7 assists. He was the best player on the floor when he played and continues to have a breakout year. He ended the game with a turned ankle and it will be interesting to see if he plays on the upcoming road trip for the Jazz.

Ace Bailey had just 12 points but showed some great flashes. This dunk driving to the basket showed just how much potential he has. What happens when he figures out that handle?

Ace just keeps racking up the air miles 🤩✈️ pic.twitter.com/0GBELhyAhU

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 31, 2026

We finally got some signs of life from Taylor Hendricks. Hendricks has had a pretty terrible couple weeks but tonight showed some signs of life. He had some nice plays around the basket including two and-ones. Maybe this is a chance for him to turn things around.

Finally, we need to be excited about Cody Williams. He might not be a star, but he is looking more and more like a solid rotation player who contributes to winning. He will only get better, and he has a chance to be an important rotation player for years to come. The development of Williams is probably the second biggest story this season after the rise of Keyonte George.

Nets teen Egor Dëmin made his Utah homecoming a winning one Friday night.

The lottery pick — who played in-state at BYU — had the best night of his impressive rookie season, leading the Nets to a 109-99 win over the Jazz before a sellout crowd of 18,186 at Delta Center to snap a league-worst seven-game losing skid. 

The Nets had been winless on the tail end of back-to-backs, and 0-8 without Michael Porter Jr. But Dëmin stepped into the breach with 25 points, 10 rebounds — career highs — and four assists.

He even drove the lane for a dunk and went 6-for-12 from deep, his 34th straight game with a 3, an NBA rookie record.

Dëmin, Wolf and Nolan Traore scored the last 14 points for the Nets to close out the victory.

“It means a lot,” said Dëmin in an on-court interview. “It’s the first second game of a back-to-back we’ve won, the first [win] without Mike. He’s a big, big, big part of our team, but we’ve got to be able to function without him, too. So that win means a lot, especially for me being back home I can say so. It’s pretty fun.”

Brooklyn snapped a league-worst seven-game losing skid, and youth led the way with Dëmin, Traore and Danny Wolf all in the lineup.

It was the first time the Nets started three rookies since Dec. 18, 2021, and the first time five rookies scored since March 23, 1991.

Wolf had 14 points and five boards, while the speedy Traore added seven points, six assists and downhill play. He blew to the basket for a late and-one that saw Keyonte George (26 points) injured on the play.

“We needed a win,” Wolf said.

Cam Thomas scored 21 off the bench, while Day’Ron Sharpe added 16 points and nine rebounds as the Nets hammered undersized Utah 47-33 on the glass.

Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkic were out for the Jazz, who’ve lost nine of 10. But the Nets won’t feel sorry in the least.

“It feels great to snap the losing streak,” Sharpe said. “Nobody likes losing.”

It was knotted at 83-all after an Ace Bailey score to open the fourth, but Brooklyn reeled off an 8-0 run. Thomas found Jalen Wilson for a corner 3 and a 91-83 lead they never surrendered.

A couple of late Demin 3s padded it to double digits at 100-90.

“Ever since he got here in the summer he’s gotten better every day. You see the confidence growing on him and I feel like the sky’s the limit for him,” Sharpe said. “He’s proven the doubters wrong, and I hope he just continues to do that.”

The Nets (13-34) are now fifth in the lottery race, a game behind Washington and one ahead of Utah.

Man, was this one an instant classic, as the Suns get their 30th win of the year and secure a nice revenge win for coach Jordan Ott against his former team. This one was once again a great team effort, as everyone stepped up to get this lead up to33 points, which was just astounding to see with no Devin Booker. Once again, you can always count out the Suns, but they will prove you wrong, and that was once again on full display tonight.

The Suns were once again led by Dillon Brooks, who had 27 points and was a big part of both ends of the court in tonight’s success. As I stated, it was a team effort, with guys like Jordan Goodwin hitting five threes and shutting down Donovan Mitchell on defense. You also cannot forget Royce O’Neale and Collin Gillespie, who each had 4 triples. A season-high 23 makes is what kept this team in the run from the start and never turned back.

The Cavs were led by DeAndre Hunter, who had 17 points, and had a good first half from Jaylon Tyson and Jarrett Allen. Unfortunately for them, though, Allen was basically played out with the Suns’ three-point dominance, something they lacked in the previous matchup on New Year’s Eve.

Game Flow

First Half

Things started hot for Phoenix as Grayson Allen got the scoring going, making his first triple of the night. This then led to both teams trading buckets, with Jarrett Allen for the Cavs starting to get hot on the other end early. He had eight of the first seventeen points, and if he scored easily inside. The Suns took a timeout to switch things up and get Jalen Green back on the floor to seek some redemption.

The Cavaliers had Jaylon Tyson, who also got into his flow early offensively, finding easy points. He has had double-digit points over the last ten games and looks to continue that streak at the beginning of this one.

Following that timeout and the Suns being down, Jordan Ott got to scheming and showed his best work finding different ways to slow down the Cavaliers. He first inserted Jordan Goodwin and then Oso Ighodaro to get the defense in check, and Oso returned that favor with a massive block on Thomas Bryant.

MEET HIM ON THE TOP SHELF 💥

What a block from Oso! pic.twitter.com/rWlTmezJ3b

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 31, 2026

He also inserted Jalen Green, who returned after missing a few games, and made a nice midrange to try to get in rhythm.

We then saw Grayson Allen continue to be the offensive leader, making a nice steal and layup, then following it up with another triple, keeping the hot streak from last night. The Suns closed out the quarter up one, 26-25, after forcing the Cavaliers to have double their turnovers (8-4).

Just like they started the first quarter, the Suns hit a three to start the second, this time made by Jordan Goodwin. Someone who has been streaky and cold recently had a big first stint, making multiple threes and bringing back his signature celebration.

Even though Goodwin was making them for the Suns, the Cavaliers were matching those threes with big man Thomas Bryant making a pair before the first timeout of the quarter.

The Suns did have some nice ball movement on offense and continued to be pests on defense, totaling a bunch of steals that led to some significant momentum swings for the home crowd. This, added to the continued threes made by this team, keeps them afloat.

After trading buckets and keeping it a one-to two-point game, Royce O’Neale decided to get hot and hit back-to-back threes to take the lead to eight.

BACK-2-BACK 👌

Royce getting it going from beyond the arc on consecutive possessions. pic.twitter.com/HYIroj4FAX

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 31, 2026

With a nice three made by Green and winning the first challenge, they continued to have this lead as the clock ended before halftime, 52-47.

In this half, the Suns were scrappy, forcing 15 turnovers and generating 21 points off of those. Having 10 steals and limiting Donovan Mitchell to only 5 points in the first without Devin Booker is a big bonus. That being said, Jarett Allen is dominating in the paint, and the Suns need to limit his presence to eliminate the Cavs hopes.

Second Half

To start the third, Dillon Brooks embraced his Villain mode and scored six of the Suns’ eleven points to start. Just like last night’s performance, he started getting to his spots and finding his offensive groove. Mark Williams also started to get going, getting a big block on Jarrett Allen and finding a nice dunk of his own.

See the Suns go ninety-four feet in one dribble 💨 pic.twitter.com/nUichfHCAX

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 31, 2026

For the Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell found some baskets to will his team back in, but the Suns remained the fighting dogs they always are. They continued to pour onto this lead as the third went on, regardless of who the Cavs were using. With Mitchell trying to bring them back, guys like Jaylon Tyson (who I mentioned in the preview) and Sam Merrill struck some fire, but the Suns were trading points.

Big shots from Brooks and even one three-pointer from Jalen Green after having a scary fall that had everyone in the arena gasp for air brought this close game to a seventeen-point lead for the Suns. Overall, with Devin Booker out, this team is surging, showing why this is a team game: everyone needs to carry their load.

JALEN GREEN WITH THE MOVES —

He’s back. 🔥

pic.twitter.com/wO1vIa5Qxq

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 31, 2026

This is where the three-point barrage began, as both teams traded make after make after make. Some big shots from Mitchell, Hunter Goodwin, Green, and Brooks had everyone on their feet. In the middle of all this, though, the Cavaliers picked up their third technical foul of the game. Something that usually happens to the Suns was now happening to their opposition.

That being said, of course, there was a stoppage involving Brooks and Cavs forward Nae’Qwon Tomlin that led to a questionable verdict. After that, the quarter was basically over, as the Suns led by as many as 20 and were now in control heading into the fourth, up 97-89.

And the lead just continued to grow as the Suns continued surging into the fourth. This team continues to grind it out, and it’s what makes you love them so much. Jamaree Bouyea starts the quarter with a block, and the bench guard duo of Gillespie and Goodwin continues to strike from beyond the arc.

The Suns also benefitted when Kenny Atkinson saw an early exit, and this fourth technical foul on the Cavs put them in a corner, now down 30 to this Suns squad on a back-to-back. Unfortunately for the Cavs, it was not enough; even though they were able to crawl back into the lead, it was just too big. Both teams went deep into the bench in this one, as Suns fans got to see the wonderful rookies and two-ways get some shine, which is always fun.

At the end of the day, it was great for the Suns to get revenge against coach Ott and his former team. This is their 30th win of the year, which was impressive following yesterday’s big game, 126-113.

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Up Next

The Suns have one more game on this homestand versus the Los Angeles Clippers, and then it’s back on the road once again!

Karl-Anthony Towns’ scoring is down, but he’s filling up the box score in other ways. 

He recorded 20 rebounds in the Knicks’ 127-97 win over the Trail Blazers on Friday night at Madison Square Garden — six on the offensive glass. Across his last two games, Towns has a whopping 42 rebounds — 13 of them offensive. 

“To me, that’s what great players do,” coach Mike Brown said. “They impact the game in a lot of different ways. For him to have 22 [rebounds] against Toronto and 20 tonight, double-double, that was huge because six of those were offensive rebounds and we beat them [in second chance points], and they’re a very, very, very good offensive rebounding team.” 

Towns’ scoring production and efficiency are down across the board this year compared to last year. He’s been benched at the ends of games at times recently. He’s constantly in foul trouble. 

But he continues to dominate the glass. He also made a point to look for quick outlets after rebounds, getting the Knicks going in transition.

“The rebounding, what he’s been doing these past couple of games has been great,” Jalen Brunson said. “We need that from him, that’s what he brings to the table. Offensively, when the ball’s not going in as much as it should be, he finds a way to impact the game. I think that’s really important for us. Big-time performance for him.” 

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The Knicks were again without Miles McBride on Friday. He missed his second straight game. 

They have listed it as left ankle injury management. Brown said it’s just precautionary after McBride missed eight games with a left ankle sprain earlier in the season. 

He is averaging 12.9 points per game this year on 43.4 percent shooting from the field and 42.0 percent shooting from 3-point range. 

That type of load management under Brown this year is a departure from Tom Thibodeau.

It has been most apparent with Mitchell Robinson, who has sat 14 games this year for load management. Brunson, Josh Hart, Towns and OG Anunoby have missed games for load management as well. 

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Jordan Clarkson was the only active Knick to not enter the game. 

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Brunson eclipsed 10,000 points Friday. 

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Dillon Jones, who the Knicks signed to a two-way contract Jan. 20, was available Friday for the first time. He began his Knicks tenure in the G-League. 

He played the final four minutes and hit a 3-pointer. 

Finally, the Houston Rockets get to face the Dallas Mavericks in Houston again. They should also benefit from the presence of Alperen Sengun, who missed the first game in Dallas with an illness and left the second game after just a minute of action. Anthony Davis played in both of those games because he loves nothing more than actually playing against Houston in Dallas. Playing in other games? Not so much.

Dallas has benefitted greatly from the “Rando that goes off against the Rockets” corollary, with Brandon Williams having gone off in both games in the Ft. Worth area. Max Christie went 10-13 in the other game. One rando is allowed (and required by NBA law), but when Dallas gets two randos that go off? They’re spitting in the face of Adam Silver. Also, Klay Thompson already exists and has made more 3s against Houston than any other team in his career.

Cooper Flagg is coming off his best offensive game as a pro, dropping 49 points and grabbing 10 boards in a 123-121 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Houston’s best shot at winning will be finding a way to keep him in check.

Tip-off

7:30pm CT

How To Watch

ABC

Injury Report

Rockets

Steven Adams: OUT

Fred VanVleet: OUT

Mavericks

Anthony Davis: OUT

Kyrie Irving: OUT

Dereck Lively II: OUT

Dante Exum: OUT

The Line (as of this post)

HOU -11.5

Check here for updates

Looking ahead because we can

Monday night on the road against the Indiana Pacers

The Cleveland Cavaliers weren’t able to sustain their good play from the last several weeks. They dropped the first leg of their five-game Western Conference road trip in embarrassing fashion, falling to the Devin Booker-less Phoenix Suns 126-113.

The final score isn’t indicative of how lopsided the game was. The Suns led by as many as 33 in the fourth quarter before the Cavs made the final score more tolerable in garbage time.

Despite the ending, the game was back and forth throughout the first half, with Phoenix taking a five-point lead into the break. That changed quickly in the third quarter.

The Suns thoroughly dominated that frame, winning it 45-32. The Cavs had no answer on defense as the Suns went 16-20 (80%) from the floor in that quarter.

Tempers flared at the start of the fourth as the Cavaliers became increasingly frustrated with the officiating, which wasn’t at all why they were being run off the floor. Head coach Kenny Atkinson picked up his second technical foul of the evening just one minute into the final quarter. That at least saved him from witnessing the conclusion of a game that the Suns led by 33 at one point.

Two things did the Cavaliers in on Friday: Three-point shooting and turnovers.

The Suns were able to exploit the Cavs’ poor perimeter defense. They couldn’t stop dribble penetration and had to collapse the defense to protect the rim. This led to easy drive-and-kick threes that the Suns knocked down at a 47.9% clip.

Meanwhile, the Cavs weren’t able to get the three-ball to fall as they went 15-48 (31.3%) from beyond the arc. This led to Phoenix having a 24-point advantage in points off of threes.

This was coupled with an inability to take care of the basketball. Without Darius Garland (toe), Evan Mobley (calf), and Craig Porter Jr. (knee), Atkinson’s group needed Donovan Mitchell to organize the offense. He failed to do so, turning it over eight times, one off his career-high of nine for a game.

Mitchell wasn’t the only one giving it away. As a team, the Cavs coughed it up 22 times. Phoenix capitalized with 36 points off turnovers.

Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 27 points on 9-14 shooting, a day after dropping 40 in a win over the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons.

Brooks was the only Sun to finish with more than 20 points, but seven finished with double-digit points.

There’s little to take away from the Cavaliers’ perspective. This was a truly awful game with very few redeeming qualities.

Jarrett Allen looked good in the first half, but that fizzled away in the second half. Jaylon Tyson played well, providing 16 points on 7-13 shooting, but he wasn’t able to do enough to slow Phoenix’s momentum.

De’Andre Hunter led the team with 17 points on 7-15 shooting.

Mitchell had 16 points on 6-12 shooting with six assists and eight turnovers in the loss.

The Cavs will look to get things headed back in the right direction when they take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. Tip-off is at 9 PM.

The Cleveland Cavaliers started their Western Conference road trip with a dud, losing 126-113 to the Phoenix Suns.

LOSER – Turnovers

Whew boy.

There’s nothing more frustrating than watching your team throw the ball away carelessly. The Cavs had 15 turnovers in the first half, which is more than their average for an entire game this season. Most of those turnovers were simple miscommunications or passes thrown way off the mark.

Lonzo Ball handed it straight to the Suns just moments after checking into the game. De’Andre Hunter sailed an outlet pass 12 feet above Thomas Bryant’s head. Donovan Mitchell dribbled it off his own foot or coughed it up to a defender for 7 turnovers in the first half. Just to name a few.

What’s arguably worse is that the Cavs were actually still in this game. It’s one thing to play yourself out of the gym with boneheaded turnovers. It’s another to make all of those mistakes and still be within striking distance because everything else is going as planned.

The Cavs entered halftime trailing by five points. A blessing considering how poorly they took care of the ball during those first 24 minutes. That wouldn’t remain as the Suns finally blew this game open in the third quarter.

WINNER – Jarrett Allen’s First Half

The Cavs need extra production from Allen with Evan Mobley out for the short-term future. He did so last game, dominating the Los Angeles Lakers. Tonight, his impact only lasted the first half before the wheels flew off around him.

Allen grabbed five offensive rebounds in the first two and a half quarters, buying the Cavs extra possessions in a game where offense was a struggle. Those second-chance opportunities nearly helped them offset the turnover disparity, which we already covered.

More than that, Allen was the best option on offense as the Cavs had all of their best actions run through him as a screener. Whether it be pick-and-roll or dribble-hand-offs, Allen looked like the only player who could get this offense out of the mud.

As mentioned, the wheels eventually came off. Allen isn’t the type of player who can single-handedly carry a team when the backcourt is turning it over, shooting poorly, and conceding open three-pointers to the other team. This one stunk, but it wasn’t because of JA.

LOSER – Shot Creation

I could have included this in our previous turnover section, but I figured it was worth its own discussion.

The Cavs had zero juice off the dribble tonight. Mitchell was uncharacteristically cold (something that’s bound to happen every once in a while, even for the best players in the association). And with no Darius Garland or Craig Porter Jr., Cleveland found itself incredibly light on ball handling and shot creation.

Basketball is built on advantage creation. You can’t run an offense if you can’t beat your man off the dribble and get the defense into the rotation. No one on the roster was able to do this consistently — save for the momentary runs where Allen’s screening was lending them advantages.

To be fair, few teams in the NBA can sustain injuries to four players who are important to the offense like Garland, Mobley, Strus, and Porter. That’s your lead guard, secondary guard, third-string guard, and primary handler in the frontcourt all on the sidelines. Toss in an ugly game from Mitchell, and this level of misfortune will put any team in the hole.

But I don’t decide who is available to play. I can only write about the game I watched. The Cavs didn’t have the firepower tonight.

WINNER – Thomas Bryant

We had to shout TB out for this one.

Bryant’s box score is juiced by the heavy garbage time he played. But 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists are still sweet. His presence off the bench is a big reason why this game was close at halftime. He knocked down back-to-back three-pointers and had a layup-saving block at the rim to give this team momentum before the half.

For a guy who has spent most of the season getting DNP-CD’s, Bryant has always been ready to take the floor and give his all. He deserves a nod of respect.

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost their first game in six tries. The Phoenix Suns took them to school 126-113.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

Donovan Mitchell

16 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 8 turnovers

I don’t care to pile on Mitchell for a bad performance when he’s been carrying this team for most of the season. But hey, he stunk tonight. This was a disaster from the jump, with Mitchell turning it over seven times in the first half alone.

Grade: F

Jarrett Allen

12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 23 minutes

Allen might have had the best game of anyone on the roster. And he really only played well for the first half. After that, it was out of his control. He set solid screens, finished at the rim, and grabbed rebounds. But the little things aren’t as important when the rest of the game is going catastrophically wrong.

This probably would have been a much better Allen performance if the game was close enough for him to play more than 23 minutes.

Grade: B

Jaylon Tyson

16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists

Tyson was fine enough. He helped steady the ship in the first half with his shot-making, and he finished as an efficient 7-13 from the floor. The Cavs just didn’t have enough firepower tonight for this to make a difference.

Grade: B+

Thomas Bryant

9 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals

We’re getting most of the positives out of the way early. Bryant was a standout from the first half, bringing some much-needed floor spacing and anchoring the defense. He didn’t play much outside of that before garbage time.

Grade: A+

De’Andre Hunter

17 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 3 turnovers

Hunter shot 7-15 tonight, which is pretty solid considering how poor he’s shot for most of the season. That’s a good sign. So is 3 steals. But the rest of his game was fairly ugly tonight. Hunter had a few brutal-looking turnovers.

Grade: C-

Nae’Qwan Tomlin

14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals

This was a helter-skelter performance from Tomlin. Not in a good way.

He was out of position on defense and didn’t have the floor spacing or ball-handling abilities to help on offense.

And for future reference, I’m not judging how anyone performed in garbage time. I’m only considering the minutes that mattered. Because otherwise, Tomlin was pretty sweet in the final five minutes. I just don’t think that’s very important.

Grade: C-

Dean Wade

3 points, 4 rebounds

Wade hit his first shot of the night and then went 0-2 the rest of the way. There’s not much else to say.

Grade: C-

Sam Merrill

10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists

Merrill resorted to some incredibly difficult three-point attempts tonight in his best effort to jumpstart the Cavs offense. He just didn’t have it. Merrill finished 2-7 from deep and 4-12 from the floor. We respect him for trying.

Grade: C-

Lonzo Ball

3 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers

The Cavs turned to Ball for some backup guard minutes because, well, they didn’t have anyone else. The story was the same as it has been all season.

He’s a non-threat to score (1-8 from the floor tonight) and just an OK defender. This wasn’t Ball’s fault, but he didn’t help much either.

Grade: F

Tyrese Proctor

4 points, 5 assists, 3 turnovers

I still have faith in Proctor as a guard with good size, a nice three-point jumper and quality defensive instincts. But he looked like a second-round draft pick tonight. That will happen from time to time.

Grade: F